War on Drugs

Chaplain Edward Brown
Administration of Justice-Gangs
Professor Kovnator
April 3, 2003

Abandon the War on Drugs

It is generally agreed that the use of recreational drugs is undesirable. The same can be said of many other practices that are not illegal, such as the use of tobacco and the abuse of alcohol. Only the use of drugs is currently criminalized by all levels of government in the United States and is the subject of a “war” to exterminate the practice
Many scholars and legal authorities who have thought deeply about the validity and appropriateness of that war, about its risks and benefits, have come to the conclusion that the war is not only not worth the effort but is counterproductive and aggravates the problem it is intended to solve. It is of interest in this regard that the United States conducted a 15-year war against alcohol (Prohibition), but abandoned it 66 years ago as a costly, wasteful, socially undesirable, counterproductive failure, and cause...