...Waltermire Critical Issue in Criminal Justice JUS-250 April 17, 2014 Legalization of Marijuana the New Drug War Looking back on reading articles and doing major research it was determined that the marijuana/hemp plant has been around since the world began. To track its roots was difficult at best, yet finding evidence as early as 7000 to 8000 years before Christ, when it was accepted that the first woven fabric was obtained from the hemp plant. The marijuana/hemp plant has many uses such as cloth, clothing, rope, incense and food (Guither). Jamestown Colony, Virginia had laws that would require farmers to grow hemp. At Mount Vernon George Washington grew hemp as a primary crop and at Monticello Thomas Jefferson grew hemp as a secondary crop (Guither). This may surprise some that two of our presidents grew marijuana and several presidents have admittedly smoked marijuana. The first laws forbidding marijuana may have been swayed, by Mormons using it. Mormon’s who traveled to Mexico for missionary work in 1910, came back to Salt Lake City with marijuana. The church’s negative response to the marijuana may have contributed somewhat to the state’s marijuana laws (Guither). Marijuana has been peddled as one of the safest recreational and medicinal drugs available. Scientific studies support the conclusion that cocaine, heroin, alcohol and cigarettes are more dangerous to the user’s health than marijuana. Marijuana...
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...Betty Waltermire Critical Issue in Criminal Justice JUS-250 April 17, 2014 Michael Strauch Legalization of Marijuana the New Drug War Looking back on reading articles and doing major research it was determined that the marijuana/hemp plant has been around since the world began. To track its roots was difficult at best, yet finding evidence as early as 7000 to 8000 years before Christ, when it was accepted that the first woven fabric was obtained from the hemp plant. The marijuana/hemp plant has many uses such as cloth, clothing, rope, incense and food (Guither). Jamestown Colony, Virginia had laws that would require farmers to grow hemp. At Mount Vernon George Washington grew hemp as a primary crop and at Monticello Thomas Jefferson grew hemp as a secondary crop (Guither). This may surprise some that two of our presidents grew marijuana and several presidents have admittedly smoked marijuana. The first laws forbidding marijuana may have been swayed, by Mormons using it. Mormon’s who traveled to Mexico for missionary work in 1910, came back to Salt Lake City with marijuana. The church’s negative response to the marijuana may have contributed somewhat to the state’s marijuana laws (Guither). Marijuana has been peddled as one of the safest recreational and medicinal drugs available. Scientific studies support the conclusion that cocaine, heroin, alcohol and cigarettes are more dangerous to the user’s health than marijuana. Marijuana has proven itself to be a true medicine...
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...The Mexican Drug War: Is It Their War or Ours? A common news headline in any newspaper or on any news channel these days mentions the “Mexican drug war”. It has become common along the U. S./Mexico border to hear people talking about it at schools, work places and in their own neighborhoods - coworkers, classmates and neighbors whom are involved in some way or know someone that is. Violence is seen and heard of on the U.S. side of the border quite frequently, which raises the questions, is it their war or ours? This war may have started on Mexican soil; however, it is, most definitely, the United States’ war as well. How did this all begin? What does the U.S. have to do with it? “For years, Mexico’s domestic supply of psychoactive...
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...Social Policy Paper War on Drugs: Take A Stand: Yes, No. Maybe! Learning Team B Kathy Bell Shamlin, Kenneth Fishman, Shorunda Hinton: Instructor: Ms.S BSHS / 355 September 4, 2015 Social Policy Paper War on Drugs; Take A Stand: The Case for Reforming Drug Policy: Most of us cannot imagine a place where it is legal to sell, buy, and use drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, ecstasy. The mere thought of these substances being legal like tobacco and alcohol seems absurd since the War on Drugs, the prevailing approach to drug policy in the United States is in its fifth decade. Yet there are advocates, many of them well respected authorities and government officials, of drug policy reform, the decriminalization of drugs, and even legalization. Has the War on Drugs been lost? Do we need to look at drug use and addiction as a public health problem instead of a crime problem? Should we focus attention and funds on those who use drugs or fight to keep drugs from coming into the United States from other countries? “ We believe the Global War on Drugs is Now Causing More Harm Than Drug Abuse Itself.” That was the half-page headline of a two-page add in The New York Times on June 8th, of 1998. The heading was followed by a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The letter pointed out that “U.N. agencies estimate the annual revenue generated by...
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...The War on Drugs Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice CRJ530 Abstract Are we winning the war on drugs? Like many of you answering this particular question I would have to say “NO.” Let’s face it the drug use among teens appears to be increasing. During the Clinton administration he faced fierce criticism for his early drug policy decisions, and he responded by proposing new funding and a new director for drug war programs. Concern about teen drug use is the result of reports such as the University of Michigan's annual survey of drug use among eighth, 10th, and 12th grade students. According to the survey, adolescents were more likely to use drugs - particularly marijuana - in 1995 than they were in 1992, the last year of the Bush administration. Indeed, there appears to have been a steady increase in reported teen drug use and in other drug use indicators since then President Clinton took office. However, the president's critics had savaged him for this increase, his drug policies and - above all - his failure to criticize drug use. After all, he is known as the president that “didn’t inhale.” The damage the "War on Drugs" has done to our society is already far greater than most of us know. It is a National Tragedy that may take generations to heal. Our failure to act quickly and responsibly by educating ourselves and our neighbors while taking a strong political stand in opposition to this war will only lead to further erosions of our way of life. Several years ago...
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...Shakib Hossain Causal Argument English 191 February 2015 Why the War on Drugs Failed “For every prohibition you create, you also create an underground”. These words by famous musician Jello Biafra may sound prejudiced, but it is the truth we all live and have lived by since the prohibition era. The war on drugs has become a significant issue in today’s society, but people are not completely sure why the war on drugs has failed. In reference to Jello Biafra, the war on drugs is a type of a prohibition, but the real question is how big of an underground has this war created that it has ultimately failed. The start of the war on drugs can officially be dated as far back as 1971 when Richard Nixon declared drug abuse as “public enemy number one”, and he increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies (Drug Policy Alliance, 2014). Later, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the number of people incarcerated for drug abuse shot up sky high due to his zero tolerance policy, and the unpredicted rise of illicit drug use. When we say the war on drugs has failed, we usually consider that the use of illicit drugs could not be reduced and is on the rise. However, it is also because it is costing more and more lives every day in addition to all the resources used coming out of the taxpayers’ pockets. In short, the war on drugs has failed because the government enforced punishment instead of prevention, which led to creating a black market that increased crime and corruption...
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...101 -070 The War on Drugs The “War on Drugs” is a term commonly applied to a campaign of prohibition, military aid and military intervention, with the intention of reducing and eliminating the illegal drug trade. The War on Drugs was officially declared in 1971 by President Richard Nixon and is still very prominent in our society today. The War on Drugs has been studied since its inception and copious amounts of data have been collected from it. The War on Drugs has a long history; since it has been enacted the government has utilized large sums of money funding it, made illicit drug use rise in percentage overall, and created an artificial and thriving black market. There is an ongoing debate on whether the War on Drugs is effective and organizations like the DPA (Drug Policy Alliance) are fighting to change it. However, the Obama administration is continuing the War on Drugs and has changed the name to the “National Drug Control Policy.” The first U.S law that restricted the distribution and use of certain drugs was the “Harrison Narcotics Tax Act” of 1914. This act regulated and taxed the production, importation, and distribution of opiates and Cocaine products. This Act pushed a more restrictive handling of certain drugs that would inevitably lead to the creation of more drug policies and the current drug war. On June 18th 1971, ongoing policies, laws, and counter culture built up and President Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs” stating that the drug problem in the...
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...Abstract Illegal drugs are no longer just a domestic problem. The drug trade business is a multibillion dollar enterprise that is run by international criminals. The drug lords behind these operations, non-nation-state actors, have become more powerful than the nation-states in their respective regions. The current “War on Drugs” strategy has offered little hope for any decisive victory; instead it has dealt primarily with domestic drug prevention, treatment, and market disruption. In this paper, I will demonstrate that because illegal drug trafficking is so inextricably linked to international crime and terrorism, there is a critical need to increase Department of Defense initiatives, in conjunction with the other elements of national power, to develop a decisive anti-drug cartel strategy that will provide security for not only our nation but other nations as well and its citizens at home and abroad. Narcotics, guns and violence, the powerful elements of a never ending war. All these elements are part of the campaign to rid the world of the disaster that drugs so ferociously have inflicted upon the United States and Mexico. The United States and Mexico has for the past three decades declared that it is in a full fledged attack against drugs and the violence it fosters. For decades billions and billons of dollars have been justified through the infamous War on Drugs. The money and military activity have not been enough, and the “urban problem,” has not been solved. It...
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...War on Drugs 1 Running Head: WAR on DRUGS: EFFECTS of DRUGS War on Drugs: Effects of Drugs Matthew Boone Camden County College War on Drugs 2 Abstract This paper will attempt to explore the effects of the War on Drugs by showing the way drugs have effects on people and been classified. This researcher will show how effects of drugs plays a major factor in today’s society. It will explore the cost of incarceration that play apart of today’s economy and how it has increased since the War on Drugs. This paper will also explore the term drug interdiction and how it has affected the War on Drugs. Drug interdiction is the process of confiscating illegal drugs from traffickers smuggling drugs into the United States borders. War on Drugs 3 War on Drugs Drugs have been around for years, being used for their medicinal uses, for their hallucination affects and other reasons. The same drugs are still being used today. Some argue that certain drugs should be legal considering that they are mainly plant based and therefore natural. The problem with it is people are learning ways to modify and condense the chemicals that are producing the affects wanted and making the affects stronger. Drugs are also being combined to create new drinks and drugs to be used, known as designer drugs. These new combinations can become lethal due to the drugs being condensed to intensify the effects. The United States has been fighting a war on drugs for over 100 years. In...
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...The War on Drugs ShaLisa R. McCray COM/172 April 17, 2013 Nick Boden The War on Drugs Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, whether illegal or legal, with the intention of creating or enhancing the recreational experience. Many of the drugs used recreationally were intended to be used medically, to stimulate the mind, or to aide in military combat. Once the government realized the effect the drugs had on people they began to initiate regulations to control the substances they introduce the people to. As the government fought harder to control drug abuse by enacting more regulatory policies, the more people began to use and abuse drugs, inciting a war across the nation. The “War on Drugs” is the term the federal government uses to refer to their efforts to stop the import, manufacturing, sale, and se of illegal drugs in the United States. The term is not used reference to any particular policy or target but instead refers as a whole to the series of antidrug initiatives directed towards ending drug abuse. On November 27, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the International Committee on Narcotics which was accountable for coordinating executive branch antidrug efforts. This initiated what the New York Times labeled “a new war on narcotic addiction at the local, national, and international level”. During a press conference on June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon labeled illegal drugs as “public enemy number one in the United...
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...closest neighboring borders within Mexico lie huge drug war problems both nations are attempting to resolve through the use of a variety of different foreign policy including military intervention, sharing of information, and stricter border control. Yet it would seem that all of which have been ineffective in solving the problem and may have even worsened it. These costly and terrible policies are hurting both nations and only tarnishing the...
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...War on drugs In the state of Arkansas as is all states when in comes down to this war on drug situation there is overcrowding in prison and in city and state jails. The questions are what do we do as law enforcement does to reduce the crowding of jails and prison behind drugs? In my few years of studying the criminal justice system and state and federal penal code systems, the war on drugs has put the state and federal penal code system in a massive strain and overcrowding. The overcrowding behind the war on drugs is a broad subject. Over the years there have been several different programs that have been implemented to stop the overcrowding behind the war on drugs. The wars on drugs have been an every struggle problem which persons of all walks of life have came in contact with. One thing America does know is that it does not matter if a person is rich or poor educated or not drugs will and have manifested in the life of the most prominent person. This war on drugs has caused a large part of the overcrowding in the penal code system, with this ongoing threats of overcrowding the war on drugs alone has cost American’s taxpayers money because of the tremendous need for new prison are needed to house new inmates because of this war on drugs. What is a solution one would ask? One would say that this question has been asked in all jurisdictions from the Federal to the State this has been an actual ongoing debate. A solution I would think would be a solution to the ongoing overcrowding...
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...Murican Group A New Type Of Politics Social Issue: War on Drugs America has been in the one of its longest wars since 1971. Not against another country’s but, against its self. It’s our public enemy number one, as declared by Richard M. Nixon, and is the war on drugs. Sadly, little effect has occurred. We spend nearly $51,000,000,000 dollars as a country on the war on drugs annually. In turn, drug use is still soaring high and money keeps getting spent. This needs to be fixed. The war on drugs has a great cause but, sadly it has little effect to back it up. It’s idea of making America better is awesome but, their plan of doing so is terrible. So far, we have the largest prison population but we have less than 5% of the world’s population. As you probably could have guessed, most of them have drug crimes as part of or as the prison sentence. A good bit of these drug crimes are harmless such as just the use of it alone. So, if you’re wondering where you’re tax dollars are going, most of it is going to keep these people in jail. So, the government is trying to stop drug use and drug related crimes. That sounds amazing but, sadly, teens report that illegal drugs are easier to obtain than controlled, legal, age-regulated alcohol. What does that mean you ask? It means that the drugs we have a war on are easy to give, get, and use and when your under 21, its way easier to get than alcohol which we have no problem with. So basically, we’re fighting a useless war. In fact, the only...
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...Response Eugene Jarecki point of view is the war on drugs has resulted in more than 45 million arrests, $1 trillion dollars in government spending, and America’s role as the world’s largest jailer. “Forty years ago, President Nixon called a press conference to tell the American people that their “public enemy #1.” - Eugene Jarecki Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available than ever. The House I Live In shows the daily life from the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the senator, the inmate to the federal judge, and offers a penetrating look at the profound human rights implications of America’s longest war. The War on Drugs is a big thing going on around the world. Now it’s being legal and people in jail are suffering inside for what they have done in the past and they can’t be set loose because the laws have changed. The presidency of Ronald Reagan marked the start of a long period of skyrocketing rates of incarceration, largely thanks to his unprecedented expansion of the drug war. The number of people behind bars for nonviolent drug law offenses increased from 50,000 in 1980 to over 400,000 by 1997. -Ethan Nadelmann, JD The film recognizes drug abuse as a matter of public health, and investigates the tragic errors and shortcomings that have resulted from framing it as an issue for law enforcement. It also examines how political and financial corruption has fueled the war on drugs, despite persistent evidence of its moral, economic...
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...in 1971 when President Richard Nixon began the “war on drugs.” This “war” was supposed to reduce the trade of illegal drugs, and yet, the country has seen an increase in the trade of illegal drugs. With the largest prison population in the world, the United States keeps approximately 2.3 million behind bars. Over half of that population is incarcerated for drug-related crimes. That is 1,150,000 lives wasting away in the prison system. To effectively rectify injustice, the United States government needs to end the war on drugs (“A Brief History of the Drug War,” Branson). First, the government must address the criteria for who is problematic enough to incarcerate. In 2005, the United Nations estimated that there are over 230 million illegal drug users worldwide, yet 90% of that sample is not categorized as “problematic.” Today, there are about 500,000 individuals in United States jails for nonviolent drug crimes (Branson). In fact, there are over 3,000 inmates serving life sentences without possibility of parole for nonviolent crimes in the country (Pilkington). Moreover, if the Justice System was not so preoccupied with incarcerating individuals who are posing no real threat to society, it would earn the country about $2.1 billion in taxpayer money (Schmitt, Warner, Gupta, Warner, and Gupta). That is a great sum of money which could and should be allocated to institutions that need it more, like education. With the war on drugs, the United States has become a police state. Education...
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