C3

 The United States has been involved in many wars during its lifetime that it has resolved. Yet I don't see anything effective being done about the current War on Drugs,which has been an ongoing battle in public health for over forty-two years since it was formally declared by President Nixon in 1971. Illegal drugs are a threat to the American people and people all over the world, but the U.S is not handling the situation in a reasonable manner. In fact, I think the American government is doing more harm than good to its own people by spending a ludicrous amount of money on trying to completely prohibit the use of illegal drugs and locking up anybody who is involved with them.

This War on Drugs is not only foolish and costly, but it violates our liberties as American citizens. Every day, thousands of people are searched without probable cause by police because their appearances lead officers and other government officials to believe they are affiliated with drugs. This conflicts with our fourth amendment rights which states that the people have a right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. Over 500,000 people have been incarcerated for crimes involving drugs, some for reasons that are not fully validated. 

The amount of money spent on incarcerating these "druggies" to diminish the presence of drugs in our country is a waste of tax dollars. With over 51 billion dollars spent annually by the government for this cause and to no avail, there should be reconsideration over what the government's role is in this situation.

Instead of banning drugs, they should be made completely legal to avoid dilemmas over illegal smuggling. Of course there would need to be regulations such as age restrictions and who is qualified to sell the drugs. But this way, it is possible to obtain any drug but it would be more difficult to actually receive.

If it were no longer illegal to use narcotics, there would be a decrease in crimes related to drugs throughout the nation. It is in America's best interest to cease funding for the prohibition of illegal drugs in the U.S. The current method will never solve anything.

    Links:  http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/society-suspects-war-drugs-civil-liberties

               http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=4694

               http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/06/opinion/branson-end-war-on-drugs/index.html

               http://www.cjpf.org/drug/colorado