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Which of these statements is true: A.) The War on Drugs has been a success? B.) The War on Drugs has been a failure?
Admittedly, this is a bit of a trick question because the terms of success and failure are not adequately defined. But are the actual terms of success in the War on Drugs any better defined? Do any of us know the measure of success?
Taking this thought experiment further, if I told you that the correct answer was B.), you might be hesitant to believe me. Drugs are a bad thing, so a war against them must be a good thing. That logic misses the point, however, and if our measure of success is a decrease in the number of drug users in America, the War on Drugs has failed. In fact, I don’t know of any way in which you could qualify the drug war as a success.
The monetary costs of this war is staggering, and you’d be surprised to learn that only a tiny fraction of funding goes towards treatment programs, which the RAND Corporation says is twenty-three times more effective in cutting drug use. Foreign aid sent to South and Central America is equally staggering and oversight on its use is often very limited. We are imprisoning nearly a half a million Americans each year on drug-related charges, further burdening our prison system and straining budgets. Our efforts to interdict drugs are not reducing drug trafficking profits in the slightest and may in fact increase profits.
Three-quarters of Americans viewed the War on Drugs as a failure in 2008. Has that changed in 2012? What are your views on the War on Drugs? Should we keep it, scrap it, or modify it?
Halen Allison, of Avoca, is a former United States Marine and has worked as an intelligence analyst for the military and government since 1998, serving in Japan, Afghanistan, and Germany. He has spent most of his adult life writing, both in an official capacity and in his personal life, on topics ranging from current events, history, and politics. After 13 years of travelling, Halen has recently returned to his hometown of Avoca, NY, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in Classical History.
“It is my hope that this blog will help generate interest and discussion in current events and political matters. “I aim to write engaging, well-argued pieces that will draw the reader in and compel him or her to consider perspectives far different from the mainstream.”
Ed Spencer’s professonal experience includes more than two dozen years as a professional journalist, where he was also a noted community activist. He also founded and owned a for-profit financial services firm, as well as a not-for-profit financial and legal services company that also offered training and workshops on issues surrounding persons with disabilities for schools and businesses. He is a pastor, a TEPE parenting educator, and a teacher, facilitator and trainer for Bridges Out of Poverty. He has pastored in five churches, and most recently founded Reverb Ministries in Bath. He is a member of the Bath Citizens Advisory Council and served on the Town of Bath committee that created a comprehensive land use plan.
“I want to present new perspectives and offer sometimes challenging thoughts. As King Solomon wrote, ‘There is nothing new under the sun.’ What remains for us is to rediscover truth. My personal mission statement (is) ‘Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.’”
