Combating Americas Illegal Drug Crisis: Comprehensive Policy Approaches

Abstract

Sociology Essay- Drugs The use of illegal drugs is one of the most significant challenges in American society. The question being how should the war on drugs be fought? Control of drugs requires a combination of realistic policy approaches on the economic sector and its impact on society. Ensuring that proper decisions are made puts the concept of illegal drug policy to a subject of debate. Illegal drugs include alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. There is controversy on drug policy among the American people, especially regarding their moral judgment, combat of drug abuse, and enforcement of illegal drug use laws. This has made it difficult for the federal government to control illegal drugs use. According to (Sacco 2014), Over the last decade, the United States has shifted its stated drug control policy toward a comprehensive approach that focuses on prevention, treatment, and enforcement. The use of alcohol and tobacco is deemed legal at a certain age, but the rest are considered illegal. American society has had its share of problems when it comes to illegal drugs. According to (Research, Gerstein, and Green, 2021), the president’s advisory team on Narcotics and Drug abuse in the 1960s stated that “the concern and the distress of the American people over the national problem of drug abuse is expressed every day in the newspapers, the magazines, scientific journals, public forums and in the home.” President Nixon’s regime was a turning point in the war against drugs. It was this era where public attitude and political spectrum fell. He dismissed heroin in 1971, stating it as a nuisance to the Americans ad increased federal drug control, and pushed for sentencing. Cocaine emerged in the 1980s, especially cocaine, which has often been connected to African Americans. This era saw an increase in the abuse of cocaine. The prevalent use of Marijuana saw the establishment of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse in 1972 and 1973, making penalties attributed to Marijuana less severe and also recommended decriminalization. According to (A Brief History of the Drug War, 2021), The presidency of Ronald Reagan marked the start of a long period of skyrocketing incarceration rates, increasing the number of drug law offenses from 50000 in 1980 to over 400000 in 1997. Anti-drug campaigns took a course during the 1990’s period. The era of George W Bush saw the allocation of much funds in the war against drugs but slowly reduced drug policies' criminalization. President Obama fought against inequality amidst powder and crack cocaine and ending the interference of Marijuana Laws by the States. President Trump's war was old-fashioned. He attempted to build a wall to prohibit drugs in the country. He instituted harsh laws on drug law violations, such as death penalties on the sellers. Joe Biden's new administration is yet to come with new opportunities; the drug war influenced by science rather than politics. The war on drugs has prompted discriminatory outcomes to the people of color from law enforcement agencies. Today this war is not attributed to any scientific basis but to who the drugs are associated with. According to (A Brief History of the Drug War, 2021)), nearly 80% of people in federal prison and almost 60% of people in state prison on drug offenses are either black...