Articles
The Wrong Way to Fight the War on Drugs · 2 January 07
By Jim Bildner and Madeline Drexler
This article focuses on society over the past 35 years since Richard Nixon launched a modern day war on drugs, calling it “America’s public enemy number one.” Now, 35 years later, the “war on drugs” has failed. The article suggests that there are many reasons for this movement to fail. Our leaders refuse to accept the facts on the ground, meaning our nations powerful individuals want to believe that we are improving the war on drugs, when in reality we have failed dramatically. Since Nixon launched this “national emergency,” the domestic drug market still remains free flowing. The article infers that the government is going about this all the wrong way. Instead of spending the billions of dollars on drug trafficking or curbing supply and demand for illegal drugs, the government needs to put that money towards treatment.
The article discusses the decrease in price of drugs over the past 25 years: a bag of heroin is no more than a gallon of gas, and most drugs have dropped in price over 50%. Finally, it goes in depth about how the drug market won’t stop by allocating millions of dollars into preventing the flow of drugs because the dealers will always find new ways to out smart society. The money needs to be directed towards the psychological and physical health of the individuals who are victims of drugs. “Prevention, not punishment,” is the core of enlightened public health. After 35 years, the war on drugs — a failure by any measure — should be phased out, so that the real fight can begin.
