The Drug Policy : War On Drugs

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Identification of the problem
The drug policy “War on Drugs” implemented by the criminal justice system the in United States has failed to address the war with the use of drugs in America. The United States of America has fought for over a century, and four presidents have staged this war that has yet to produce significant results. It is a war that the US was losing and drug abusers were all over hospitals, courts, and prisons. The use of drugs has ended in violent crimes that have always resulted into damaging neighborhoods in this country, and many children have been lost and abandoned due to drug abuse (Friman, 2008).
The United States have occasionally tried to overcome this problem with policies such as “War on Drugs” and the government has spent billions of dollars to fight drug abuse, but the enforcement law has been costly and counterproductive. The United States government needs to shift its spending from drug law enforcement to treatment, education, and prevention as optional policies that can do well (Paley, 2014).
The criminal justice system is mainly intended for punishing individuals who cannot live peacefully within society and is an ineffective and blunt system when it is intended to address health issues (Paley, 2014). Efficiency is, not the case however for the United States since the policy on fighting drug abuse have been left to the criminal justice system. A collaborative approach that treats all participants and engages the community with respect is more humane and also more effective. Harsh methods are the reasons these policies are not working and cannot solve the problems of drug abuse.
For the United States to be ready to fight drug abuse, there is a need to stop the punishment approac...

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...on and have enabled us to respond effectively differently to the problem. The issue of drug abuse touches every family and every member of the society, and there are millions of Americans who have successfully recovered from drug use disorder. A more humane policy on drug abuse have proved to be successful in overcoming drug addiction, and United State should embrace change in adopting this policy.
Conclusion
There is a need to change the current drug policy due to inefficiency by adopting the above recommend policy that is scientific based and that has credibility by justifiable statistics and research. The policy should be evidenced-based prevention programs, rooted in scientific research on addiction, historical emphases on recovery, increased access to treatment and a complete criminal justice reform if success against drug abuse is to be attained (Carmen, 2015).

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