America's War On Drugs

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Michael J Mullins America’s War on Drugs The United States of America has been fighting a war that has no end in sight. For the most part this war is directed at America’s own citizens. Some people argue that this war on drugs violates an individual’s civil rights. There are others that argue this war is a waste of time and money, and that in a time when the United States debt is over 17 trillion dollars and growing we need to find a cheaper and better way to fight America’s war on drugs. Drug prohibition, A.K.A. “War on Drugs”, is not effective, it is like trying to extinguish a forest fire with a garden hose. It is time to end the prohibition on drugs and end the “war…show more content…
The nonprofit organization (LEAP) understands this concept all too well. Leap or law enforcement against prohibition is made up of current and former members of the law enforcement and criminal justice community. They are speaking out about the failures of our existing drug policies. LEAP believes America’s drug policies have failed, and continue to fail, to effectively address the problems of drug abuse, juvenile drug use, addiction, and crime caused by the existence of a criminal black market in drugs. LEAP envisions a world in which drug policies work for the benefit of society, keeping our communities safer. To achieve this the organization thinks that legalization and regulation would end violence, reduce crime, disease, protect human rights and lessen the incidence of death. These are people that are either still fighting the war on drugs or at some point were in a position to do so. It actually amazes me that the people that make up the organization of LEAP have been on the front lines of this war and from firsthand experience realize it is not working. They believe by continuing to fight the so called “war on drugs”, the U.S. government has worsened these problems of society instead of alleviating them. They also state that drug prohibition is the true cause of much of the social and personal damage that has historically been attributed to drug use. It is prohibition that makes these drugs so valuable. Nearly 40 years and some 40 million arrest later, drugs are cheaper, more potent and far more widely used than at the beginning of this futile crusade, at the cost of tens of billions of dollars every year. How much more evidence does Washington need. When organizations like LEAP know firsthand America’s drug policies are not working and that drastic actions need to be
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