Reform Drug Laws Essay Research Paper REFORM

Reform Drug Laws Essay, Research Paper

REFORM DRUG LAWS

This paper will prove that America.s drug laws are ineffective and cause more

harm than good. The notion that a state of freedom exists in America is completely

voided by narcotic laws. Narcotic laws cause a black market, which raises the prices of

drugs to astronomical levels. These high prices cause drug addicts to turn to crime in

order to support their habit. There exists substantial evidence that marijuana is less

harmful than legal product like alcohol or nicotine. The war on drugs is comparable to

the Vietnam War in its harm on the current generation of minorities. The government

avoids ending anti-narcotic legislation because of the vast amount of capital which is spent

on the war on drugs in terms of law enforcement and prison systems. Also there are

many legislators whose campaign corner stones are often getting tough on drugs, to make

an about face would mean political suicide.

Yes, drugs are illegal. This very fact is what discourages many Americans from

using drugs. However the illegality of the substances in question do not stop all people

from using.Despite the severe punishment users of illicit drugs face if caught, illicit

drug use is widespread in the United States. .According to the National Institute on Drug

Abuse’s 1992 National Household Survey, more than one in three Americans (36.2%)

have used illegal drugs at least once in their lifetime, nearly 28 million Americans (11.1%)

used them in the previous year, and almost 14 million Americans (5.5%) used them during

the past month. (Skolnick 3). This is clear evidence that the war is not working. Drug

addicts will continue using drugs regardless of the penalties associated with procession,

simply because they are addicted to these dangerous substances and that takes precedence

over fear or respect of the law. .The White House Office of Drug Control Policy

estimate that 20 percent of the nations cocaine users consume 66 percent of the nations

cocaine. (Eldredge 9). For these addicts, attainment of drugs takes precedence over

possible jail time.

The attainment of these drugs is a problem for these addicts. Considering that the

entirety of drug trade is done on an illegal black market, prices are astronomical. .A

typical heroin addict is spending 200 dollars a day on drugs. (Horrowitz 2). Many of

these addicts are at a point where they are so addicted, that they can no longer function in

a workplace environment. In order to obtain narcotics the user will often turn to crime.

.In a 2 1/2-year study of Detroit crime, Lester P. Silverman, former associate director of

the National Academy of Sciences’ Assembly of Behavior and Social Sciences, found that

a 10 percent increase in the price of heroin alone produced an increase of 3.1 percent

total property crimes in poor nonwhite neighborhoods. Armed robbery jumped 6.4

percent and simple assault by 5.6 percent throughout the city. (Miller 3). The street

crime, which most political candidates pledge to clean up, is a direct result of the measures

which the United States has taken in order to make it a so called better place.

The War on Drugs costs the United States billions of dollars. .Fifteen billion

dollars are fed into the federal drug control budget annually. (Norml). This money would

be better spent on schools, roads, and other things that the people of America could use.

Instead it is spent on prisons, police forces, and other government institutions.

The reason why people become involved in the drug trade is no different than why

people became involved in the bootlegging trade during prohibition, money. There are

phenomenal amounts of cash which can be earned in the drug trade. .In 1984 a kilogram

of cocaine sold for $4,000 in Columbia. That same kilogram sold for $300,000 on the

streets of the United States. (Scott 82). That is a 75% increase in the price of the

product. With a little organization you can create an intertwined network of buyers,

wholesalers, transporters, and sellers. .This business which you created can run on very

little overhead. You pay no taxes, no benefits, no rent. You handle your own insurance

and you take your own collections.(Gray 13). The only problem that you face is

someone in your organization being caught by law enforcement. If this happens though,

there are plenty of people who can step up and take the persons job.

Today the people involved in the business of drugs have gotten smarter. .In

Illinois it is a Class X felony to sell crack cocaine within one thousand yards of a church,

school, or park, that carries a six to sixty year sentence. But the maximum you can give a

juvenile is thirty days in the Audy Home. (Gray 4). Therefore in Chicago a number of the

people selling crack on the streets are under eighteen. Most people would agree that one

thing they don.t want to see children involved in is drugs. However,

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