Max Miller US History: Drug Policy in the US

Max Miller
Drug Policy in the US

Drugs have always been in the forefront of news. Whether its news of the drug epidemic that we are facing today with the Opioids or news in other countries such as Mexico about the drug issues that they're facing or the legalization of weed in the states. Drugs have always been a heavily talked about topic of conversation. There is no doubt that the use of drugs causes many problems not only in the United States but all over the world. Specifically in the United States why is it such a problem and how can we fix our drug policy along with what are the benefits of doing so?

The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation states that over 40 million Americans have been arrested for drug related charges. That is more than any other country in the world. The majority of the charges that have been filed are almost all petty crimes which can include something as simple as just possession of that substance. The substance that is primarily debated is weed because it is not nearly as dangerous as other illegal substances yet it is treated like so and people who are caught with it are treated the same as someone who was in possession of something like Heroin. This has created the largest prison population in the world. The US drug policy does not only affect the US but other countries as well. The drug policy that is in place right now among many things aims to stop the production of various drugs by its source. Often countries in South America where the majority of the drugs that we consume are produced. Because of this policy the US conducts massive raids on properties of poor individuals who have no other alternative to make a living. This fuels gang warfare in those countries along with destroying many acres of crops and land. Another negative to the current policy is that hundreds of thousands of American citizens are still addicted to a substance and are punished instead of getting the proper treatment that they need. The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation highlights what they think are the areas in our drug policy that are in need of reform. They say that the main issues are that are drugs are treated the same, from marijuana to heroin the punishments are usually the same. This is because of the Drug Abuse Act of 1986 where it states that most drug crimes should illicit a punishment of 5-10 years. This includes anything from possession to manufacturing. This resulted in Judges being forced to give a minimum prison sentence for all drug crimes regardless of the situation. Another act was the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 which was used to eliminate certain discrepancies in punishment times which resulted in more widespread and harsher sentences. The mandatory minimums are almost always misused because it mainly targets lower-level drug offenders. All of these things are only a small amount of factors that contribute to the massive prison population that we have today.

The prison population that we have today is the largest in the world. That is extremely expensive for the government to maintain. In 2017 it cost $7 Billion to maintain the current prison population which exceeded the $5.5 Billion allocated in the federal budget. Because this money is coming from tax payers many citizens believe that the Federal Government should be doing more to fix this problem. The Institute for Policy Studies says that the US drug policy is not guided by hard facts and evidence for its effectiveness but is guided by political opportunism and the consideration for fair justice is almost never brought up. The drug policy has had no evidence that it reduces deaths, abuse, availability and the only evidence that is there is that it massively promotes the funding for law enforcement instead of actually using proven measures to control the issue. This has led to the drug policy being racist and targeting the lowest level offenders who never commit an act of violence. And the heavily relied on use of law enforcement has led to minorities being disproportionately targeted. There is no data that supports that these actions have led to a reduction in production of drugs which was its intention. The only thing that it has done is support drug enforcement and even drug trafficking industries while the disproportionately target groups such as minorities and foreigners are the real victims and the real people suffering from this misguided policy.

Psychology Today writes that it is not possible to control the supply of drugs but it far more effective to reduce demand. With 70,000 drug overdoses in 2017 the impact of drugs not only impacts direct individuals but families and even whole communities. They estimate that the cost of crime, lost productivity, healthcare costs, and cost for the drugs is estimated to be over $500 billion annually. Making it almost imperative for the United States to fix this issue that has plagued our country. But What is the most effective way of doing so? The Washington Post wrote an article where 13 experts combined their knowledge and try to come up with a solution. They wrote that above all the main issue is weed. EJI writes that 88% of all marijuana violations are for possession only. EJI also says that minor drug crimes make up half of the prison population and many polls indicate people are in favor of looser regulations on that substance. Going back to the Washington Post article the 13 experts came up with the idea that the legalization of weed with a state controlled market is widely regarded as the best option. It has many upsides and very few downsides but not enough to significantly outweigh the benefits.

In conclusion it is clear that the Federal government does not understand the current drug crisis that is at hand. Whole communities are suffering because of the lack of knowledge that they have. The United States is loosing over $500 billion a year because of various drug related problems and we have the largest prison population in the world. Fixing this problem as many upsides to it if the government would pay attention to the facts because there are solutions such as a state controlled market. Instead minorities are being disproportionately targeted while the drug crisis only grows.