e portfolio DUE IN TWO HOURS

The Drug War and the Government

The drug war has been going since the 1970’s and trillions have been spent trying to get drugs off the street and away from the American public, but the drug for many is a racist movement to attack minorities and the less fortunate. The US drug war has been involved in Mexican soil, since it had started, but Mexican government did not really join till 2006. The conflict between drug cartels and the two government has led to the deaths of millions. There is a common belief that the drug cartels have a stronghold on Mexican politics and are in bed with politicians from mayors to the Mexican federal government. It is estimated that $13.6-49.4 billion is spent on the drug war. The estimated deaths are above 120.000 and over 27,000 missing. The main drug targeted by the American government is cannabis, which is legal in some states and in Mexico. That fact has proven it to be almost impossible to ban it in the states.

Drug Trafficking (Production to Consumption)

Most of the drugs are imported from Mexico, which are imported mainly from South America. This is due to the Mexican border being laxer than the American one. This has caused cartels to come up with creative ways to get drug across the border, which may be through person, vehicle, or catapult. There have been over 220 tunnels found since 1990, which were used to transport such drugs.

Drug trafficking is the act of having, producing, or selling any type of illicit drug. This has caused many Americans to go to prison for a small number of illicit drugs. There is a mainstream belief that many African Americans and Latinos are unfairly targeted for stop and frisks that has led to fatal police shootings. Drugs have been a huge part of poorer and urban neighborhoods that have caused many people to fear and hate local law enforcement, many students lose their financial aid, just for having a small amount on them. Minorites and prosecuted 43.9 percent of time for drug crimes when they make up a little above 30 percent of America.

Social and Economic Effect.

The most people effected by the drug war are the less fortunate. They are the working class that work physical labor and do not have the money to pay hospital bills but can buy some illicit drugs. Teenagers are the primary user of drugs, with marijuana being the main drug. The drug war has cost trillions of taxes payer money in four decades it has been fought. This has put a strain on the government budget, which means less social programs are available to the average American. With any war, civilians get killed in the crossfires. There has been a sea of shoot outs that have cost the lives of innocent Americans, even children. There is also a social racism fueled by the drug that white supremacists used to rally against minorities. This has caused greater turmoil in today’s social climate, where public opinion believes that cannabis should be legal, which is most used illicit drug. This belief has strained the trust in the DEA and federal government, in general.

Policy and the Massive Problem .

The specific policies on drugs is outdated and contested. The DEA has marijuana as a Schedule I drug, which means there is no medical use. This is frankly an outdated belief as cannabis has been found to be useful for medical treatment, and 31 states including D.C. have legalized it for medical uses. Drug Trafficking is a blank label policy, for it is hard to tell what is selling and what is for personal use. There have been cases where people making cannabis have gotten life, while a murder and rapist gets a couple of years. There is a no federal precedent, since it is legal in 31 states a recreationally in eight states. The government is so strict that they have even outlawed drug paraphernalia, where Tommy Chong went to jail for selling a bong pipe. The best way to deal with problem in popular belief is to legalize the harmless and most used marijuana, which would cut the profits of the drug cartel. Without cannabis, the drug cartel will have to try to peddle cocaine or meth, which only about 3 million Americans use, compared to the 20 million that use cannabis. This is proven effective in countries like Portugal, where the drug war has ended, and they have the lowest drug overdoses and users. Portugal only has 6 deaths compared to the US’s 312 deaths per million on drug relation. This is a huge divide from the decades of US policy, but it might save America.

References DEA. (2016). Drug Scheduling. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.dea.gov/drug-scheduling Kristof, N. (2017, September 22). How to Win a War on Drugs. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/opinion/sunday/portugal-drug-decriminalization.html National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2015, June). Nationwide Trends. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends Nixon, R. (2017, July 25). By Land, Sea or Catapult: How Smugglers Get Drugs Across the Border. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/us/drugs-border-wall.html Office of National Drug Control Policy. (2017). Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/ UN. (n.d.). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/drug-trafficking/index.html Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H-48, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4863. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014.

Figures

Figure 1, Drug usages and flux from 2002-2013 (NIDU. 2013)

Figure 2, Drug preference in 2013 (NIDU. 2013)