Drugs: War on Some Drugs
For more than 30 years the U.S. has spent billions of dollars and had millions of Americans incarcerated, yet illegal drugs remain cheap, potent and widely available in every community; and the harms associated with them continue to mount.
U.S. government's cost report on drug control to be roughly $12 billion in 2005. Additionally, in a separate report, the U.S. government reports that the cost of incarcerating drug law offenders was $30.1 billion—$9.1 billion for police protection, $4.5 billion for legal adjudication, and $?11.0 billion for state and federal corrections. In total, roughly $45.5 billion was spent in 2005 for these factors. For all of this drug prohibition, like alcohol prohibition before it is a failure. Alcohol prohibition required ratification of the 18th Amendment, which was later repealed by the 21st. This means Congress had no authority to control a chemical substance like alcohol, therefore Congress has no authority to control other chemicals as well.
The U.S. nonviolent prisoner population is larger than the combined populations of Wyoming and Alaska. Since the enactment of mandatory minimum sentencing for drug users, the Federal Bureau of Prisons budget has increased by 1,954%. Its budget jumped from $220 million in 1986 to more than $4.3 billion in 2001. It is well known that the government can’t even keep drugs out of the strictly controlled environment of prisons.
The best and most humane solution to America’s drug problem is to re-legalize drugs. This will make it much easier for addicts to seek counseling and rehabilitation. Re-legalization will also reduce the crime that is associated with the illegal drug trade. During prohibition crime associated with bootlegging increased, after the repeal of the 18th Amendment, those types of crimes came to an end. The same thing is likely to happen if drugs are re-legalized. Re-legalized drugs could be sold in controlled environments, such as stores that are regulated by an advisory board. Some drugs currently classified as illegal might have some medical benefits, which are currently not being explored. Additionally we know that industrial hemp has many great economic possibilities.
