War On Drugs Research Paper

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In society the use of illegal drugs is strongly opposed by the government. With the introduction of increasingly potent and seemingly dangerous drugs to American Society, President Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs”. While the “War on Drugs” is generally regarded as a beneficial program, it is actually detrimental to American society. Throughout American History, various presidential administrations focused money and resources on the war on drugs, leading to the rise of gangs and organized crime, increased racism, increased government expenditure, increased taxes and a decrease in drug safety. As American life became increasingly stressful in the nineteenth and twentieth century, Americans resorted to drugs to cope with the stress. The …show more content…

Firstly, the growing market for cocaine led to the Medellin Cartel and Pablo Escobar’s rise to power in Colombia and with that came violence and death (Shmoop). Under Escobar’s leadership, the Medellin Cartel was responsible for killing the Justice Minister of Colombia, eleven Colombian Supreme Court justices, one hundred innocent people and many more (Shmoop). Due to the fact that cocaine was very expensive, it was uncommon in poor African-American communities, which made crack cocaine especially prominent in such communities (Stuff You Should Know: How Crack Works). Crack cocaine differs from cocaine in that crack has a significantly shorter high that lasts for only fifteen minutes and thereby making it even more addictive to its users (Stuff You Should Know: How Crack Works). Due to the high addictiveness of crack cocaine, street gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips were able to acquire crack cocaine from suppliers such as Freeway Rick Ross, and gain control of the streets of Los Angeles and, by the mid eighties, most of California (Stanford). Until the introduction of crack cocaine, the Bloods and Crips were less violent and less powerful, but as their market expanded they both vied for a monopoly on the crack industry in California, which led to increased gang recruitment, size and violence (Stuff You Should Know: How Street …show more content…

While government intervention really began in the nineteenth century, the “War on Drugs” was officially started by President Richard Nixon. Nixon’s “War on Drugs” began with Operation Intercept in 1969, in which the Nixon administration stopped every car at the US-Mexico border for two weeks to search for marijuana, but failed to find any major drug shipment (Shmoop). Nixon later went on to pass the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act that actually reduced penalty for marijuana possession, however it also grants law enforcement new powers to conduct drug related searches (Shmoop). However, it was not until 1971 that Nixon coins the term “War on Drugs” and 1973 that he creates the Drug Enforcement Agency (Shmoop). Then after Nixon’s presidency, in 1984, joint US and Colombian officials destroy over one billion dollars of cocaine. Then in 1986, the Reagans begin an anti-drug campaign with the slogan “Just Say No” and pass the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 which provides a minimum sentence for drug related crimes and leads to an increase in incarcerated federal criminals (Shmoop). Also in 1986, the Medellin Cartel is incited for its crimes (Shmoop). Lastly, in 1988 Reagan passes new drug laws which state that because crack cocaine is one hundred times more addictive than cocaine, it deserved a one hundred times harsher punishment, despite the fact that there was no actual proof

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