Todays Drug Laws Essay -- Papers Society Laws Drugs Narcotics Essays

Today's Drug Laws Today?s drug laws seem to do more harm than good. The so-called drug war hasn?t seemed to be as effective as it was intended to be. Its original intent lies in its name, to attack the drug problem in America. Nixon started the war on drugs in the late sixties to stop drug abuse at the source, the distributors. Another intention for the war on drugs was to show individuals taking part in this illegal activity that their participation would cause serious consequences. The government has taken drastic measures to keep drugs out of our nations streets, from attacking the frontline in The Columbian drug fields, to making numerous drug busts in urban cities across the United States. However, these harsh but well- intentioned laws have been accused of infringing on America?s freedom. Some believe the people have a natural right to use drugs if they perfectly well chose to do so. Although the war on drugs has been going on for many years, drugs still remain a big problem in the lives of many Americans. Drug offenders as well as abusers are being punished with extreme penalties. Innocent people are suffering because of this. And finally, all the tax dollars going into this war seems to be in vain because its not progressing like it should. The American Government saw that drugs were repressing its citizens, which made them spring into action. The Government wanted to do whatever it took to rid its streets from drugs and crime, which in time the War on Drugs was created. Nixon launched programs with efforts to crackdown on illegal drug use. He created the Office of Drug Abuse and Law Enforcement (ODALE) and the Office of National Narcotics Intelligence (ONNI). In 1973, he also initiated Reorganization... ...tes these laws. Whether or not they are on the right track in solving the problem makes their intentions invalid. Harsh laws and the treat of jail will not stop drug abuse. We learned this from History. When the Prohibition law was passed in 1920, innocent people suffered, organized crime grew, government officials (police, court, politicians, ect.) became corrupt, disrespect for the law grew, and the consumption of prohibited substance increased. If America has learned anything from it?s past, prohibiting people in a democratic society causes more and more problems. Legalization also brings on a bunch of other problems, which makes this issue more complicated. The answers aren?t going to fall into place. It is going to take arguments from both sides to come to an agreeable decision, and then and only then is this war on drugs will come to an inevitable end.