War on Drugs

Is the difference between marijuana and alcohol really worth $20 billion annually? In June 1971, President Nixon declared a “war on drugs.”() The problem is that the department of corrections was ill prepared to house the newly made convicts. This created over population in prisons all over America because of a failed attempt to “crack down.” It is a fact that countries with overbearing drug laws tend to have more drug problems than those who don’t. Now that new studies and facts are coming to light we have finally entered a stage in which to rebuild drug reform. The American war on drugs is a failing system that needs a major overhaul. How did an entire administration fail to prepare for the wave of future felons they were creating with their new drug laws? When the new expansion on the war on drugs started the number of incarcerated persons for nonviolent drug offenses went from 50,000 to 400,000 in 17 years.() According to the Florida department of corrections they house just over 16,000 inmates charged with drug related crimes. This cost the state of Florida approximately $287,568,000 a year. So where was the federal plan meant to deal with the excessive increase in incarcerated persons? I’ll tell you there wasn’t one. Now 44 years later we are trying to play catch up with an already over populated system. Now if we were to legalize or decriminalize drugs like marijuana this number would steadily decrease over time. This would mean less money spent to housing inmates and less money spent on arresting the criminals. In New York it cost $1,700 dollars just to make a marijuana misdemeanor arrest, and costing New York nearly $31 million annually.() So maybe it’s time to reevaluate the laws in place to fight the war on drugs. No one thinks of the economy when they hear the words war on drugs. The federal government spends roughly $20 million a year on the war on drugs. I have to say that I am sure that there are probably much