Debate: War on Drugs

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Is the American War on Drugs succeeding or should it be abandoned?

Background and context

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Supply/demand/prices: Has the War on Drugs reduced the supply of illegal drugs?

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Yes

• The War on Drugs has caused the price of many illicit drugs to increase - This is seen as a sign of success because it suggests that the supply of drugs has diminished as a result of such things as coca field eradication in Columbia. In general, the diminished supply of a good makes the good more scarce and more valuable or expensive on the market. Since the price of cocaine has increased, therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that a decrease in supply is the result.

• 2005 saw decreased international drug trade.
  • State Department Website. "International Cooperation Brings Success in War on Drugs. State Department issues annual authoritative report on global narcotics trade. March 2006 - "Washington – Steadily increasing cooperation among nations led to 'significant successes' in reducing international drug trafficking and criminal activity in 2005, the U.S. State Department declared in releasing the 2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) March 1."

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No

It is not working, only increasing the value. Illegal drugs are just as easy, if not easier to get now then ten years ago. The price may have gone up, but only due to greed. Prison sentencing may have contributed to the raise of price. The statistics shown are usually wrong or falsified to protect a certain agencies source of income. This goes right along with the increase in arrest. They have to show their doing something.

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Imprisonment: Is the imprisonment rate in the War on Drugs justifiable?

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Yes

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No

• The incarceration rate in America's war on drugs is excessive and costly. Between 1983 and 1998, annual drug admissions to state and federal prisons increased approximately 16-fold to about 170,000.[1] Mike Gravel. 2006 - "The United States incarcerates more people and at a higher rate than any other peacetime nation in the world. According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics the number of US residents behind bars has now reached more than 2.3 million. We are losing an entire generation of young men and women to our prisons. Our nation's ineffective and wasteful 'war on drugs' plays a major role in this. We must place a greater emphasis on rehabilitation and prevention. We must de-criminalize minor drug offenses and increase the availability and visibility of substance abuse treatment and prevention in our communities as well as in jails and prisons."

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Civil liberties: Are civil liberties protected adequately in the War on Drugs?

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Yes

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No

• The US government is invading the privacy of Americans in its War on Drugs. Walter Cronkite. "Telling the Truth About the War on Drugs". Huffington Post. March 1, 2006 - "With police wielding unprecedented powers to invade privacy, tap phones and conduct searches seemingly at random, our civil liberties are in a very precarious condition."

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Youth drug problems:

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Yes

Just becuase youth are under 21, this doesn't mean they should have priveleges of getting away with crimes. Drugs are illegal and they should be punished equally for using them.

If they are not punished, then they'll keep using them even though they probably know they are bad for them.

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No

• Youth and students with drug problems should be helped off of their addictions, not punished.
  • Scarlett Swerdlow, Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) said in 2005[2] - "Half of all high school seniors graduating this year have tried illegal drugs at some point. More than eight in ten say it’s easy for them to get their hands on marijuana. Drug policies should take this reality into account and respond sensibly. But instead, the Drug Czar wants to alienate students who have problems with drugs by arresting them, kicking them out of extracurricular activities, and taking away their financial aid for college."

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Write Subquestion here...

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Yes

• State Department Website. "International Cooperation Brings Success in War on Drugs. State Department issues annual authoritative report on global narcotics trade. March 2006
• Michael S. Rozeff. "War on Drugs a Big Success". LewRockwell.com. December 19th, 2005

• Charlene Porter. "International Cooperation Brings Success in War on Drugs. State Department issues annual authoritative report on global narcotics trade." Washington File. March 1, 2006

• Rachel Van Dongen. "Quietly, the war on drugs gains ground". Christian Science Monitor. November, 22, 2004

• BBC. "US Anti-Drug Policy 'Succeeding'". November 18th, 2005

• John Panneton. "Success in the War on Drugs". Sea Power. October, 2006

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No

• Ethan Nadelmann. "Think Again: Drugs." Foreign Policy. September/October 2007

• Walter Cronkite. "Telling the Truth About the War on Drugs". Huffington Post. March 1, 2006

• "The War on Drugs is Lost". National Review Online. July 1st, 1996

• John Burnett. "War on Drugs Hasn't Stemmed Flow Into U.S.". NPR. December 2, 2007

• Steven McDougall "The War on Drugs. It's not the drugs; It's the war". 2001

• Ben Wallace-Wells. "How America Lost the War on Drugs". Rolling Stones. November 27th, 2007

• Misha Glenny. "The Lost War. We've Spent 36 Years and Billions of Dollars Fighting It, but the Drug Trade Keeps Growing". August 19, 2007

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Leaders/politicians: Where do the primary leaders and politicians stands?

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Yes

• Bush administration.
• Drug Czar John Walters,
• Robert Novak, architect of Plan Columbia.

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No

• Denis Kucinich opposes the War on Drugs
• Mike Gravel
• Ron Paul

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Organizations pro and con:

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Yes

• Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) - Cited increase in cocaine prices in 2006 as evidence of success.[3]

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No

• Drug Policy Alliance.
• Government Accountability Office.
• Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
• DrugWarRant.com
• Human Rights Watch, opposes the War on Drugs largely on the basis of the incarceration costs.

See also

• Debate: Legalization of Marijuana
• Debate: Legalization of drugs

External links

• Council on Foreign Relations, Lee Hudson Teslik. "The Forgotten Drug War". April 6, 2006
• BBC. "US claims success in war on drugs". October 3, 2007