PROJECT MENU: INTRO | CRITICISM | MARIJUANA | DRUG DEMAND | CONCLUSION
I conclude that the War on Drugs is ineffective, counterproductive, and hurts lower-class communities while establishing socioeconomic racial disparities.
Policymakers fail at reducing harmful drug use by empowering cartels to penetrate the market deeper while distributing unsafe substances. With less legal supply of drugs, the demand for alternate – often harmful – substances increases. This cycle only hurts the interests of the American government and people.
Billions of dollars worth of DEA funding and related infrastructure go to waste as the fundamental issues are not solved. Instead, racial disparities occur. Poor neighborhoods are far more likely to partake in minor drug offenses leading to arrests and destabilization.
The War on Drugs was a calculated target on African-American communities and poor neighborhoods. These developing regions were hit heavily with DEA arrests and brutality from law enforcement.
Experts have shown that opening up domestic drug restrictions will provide a safer environment for both medical and recreational use of various substances (ex. Marijuana). As states begin passing laws and regulations supporting drug legalization, remember where the initial stigma came from.
Image Sources
https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/20191226_222300-1-1024×768.jpg
https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/AP_marijuana_protest_2_jt_160402_16x9_992.jpg