The War Against Drugs
Naufel Tajudeen Crimes, Drugs and Policy The War Against Drugs In this country, we are locked in war we simply cannot win. We strive to protect over 10,000 miles of border, against enemies who are driven by the lure of an obscene profit. We have fought this a version of this war before, and have lost. All that has really resulted from this war is the overcrowding of prisons, the expansion of law enforcement's ability to encroach on the personal lives of ordinary citizens, and paranoia and distrust. I am referring to the war on drugs. As time goes on, it becomes more and more evident that the war on drugs is as useless as prohibition was almost 80 years ago. Now it has become a point of pride for our elected officials, who use the war as a re-election tool. To most people the fiscal reasons for ending the war are the most convincing. For example, it costs over $30,000 per year to house a prisoner - this does not include processing and legal fees, only the actual prison costs - food, water, electricity and guards. There are over 1.5 million non-violent drug law offenders in prison right now, and this number is increasing daily. That means we are spending a minimum of $45 billion per year keeping former tax-paying citizens, most o
5 billion of taxes that America doesn't see. This is nearly impossible to prevent. You have to go after the problems themselves. This is a free country with over 10,000 miles of border and over 247 million inhabitants. Alcohol kills over 120,000 people every year. Also bare in mind, nicotine, caffeine and alcohol are all drugs. There are also moral dilemmas in declaring war on drugs and their users. Along with these profits will come increased war in our neighborhoods as gangs and dealers fight and kill for the enormous profits. Increasing penalties for drug crimes will just increase the prices and thereby the profits for people willing to take the risk. Americans will never see any of this money because, being illegal, it is not taxed. Unfortunately, the drug war has driven the cost of living up to unbelievable heights, while lowering take-home pay through high tax rates, and has increased crime while lowering education quality. There is no way you will ever be able to eradicate drugs from this country without declaring martial law, doing house-to-house searches and increasing border security dramatically. f whom had jobs and were contributing to the economy in some way, locked up with murderers and rapists.
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