in my freshman year of high school, not long after i'd begun smoking, we received an english assignment where we had to write and present a persuasive speech about a subject of your choosing. being that my teacher was an idiot, she banned drugs as a topic. being 15, i thought it'd be coolest to do it on drugs anyway, but without getting in trouble. so what did i do? i wrote it about Ending the US War on Drugs. this, in combination with my research paper on the rise of the Nazis, got me onto the school newspaper for the subsequent three years. here it is, for your enjoyment and criticism. it's been 4 years, so feel free to burn the hell out of it. i just found it when cleaning out some stuff from my old computer, so i emailed it to myself. enjoy. How many people were arrested for drug crimes in the United States in 2002? 1.5 million. Of these, one third were imprisoned. 500,000 Americans will have to spend the next few years in jail. 1.5 million Americans will now have difficulty acquiring a job, entering a college, and enlisting in the military. This trend is not new. Every year, at least one million Americans are arrested due to the War on Drugs. Every year, one million Americans receive a mark on their criminal record. Every year, one million Americans are barred from holding certain positions, and are refused employment for drug use. 13% of all arrests are related to drugs. The rate of arrest is one person every 17 seconds. Every year, 43,000 new inmates go to jail. 25% of these are for drug related crimes. 100,000 of these arrests are juveniles; Americans under the age of 18. These are 100,000 students who will have their life ruined because they have a black mark by their name due to a drug offense. How much money did the United States spend on the War on Drugs last year? The federal budget to fight drugs: $20 billion. And together, the Fifty States spent another $30 billion. $50 billion is spent annually to fight drugs. This is $50 billion that could be used to enhance education, to create new jobs. $50 billion we could be using for welfare payments, poverty reduction, or medical research. $50 billion we squander every year. Meanwhile, the drug trade nets an estimated $40 billion a year. Who is winning this battle? The war on drugs has lost the faith of the American people. A survey was conducted, asking Americans if they thought the War on Drugs was working. 86% said no. The youths of America vehemently disagree with the War on Drugs; a 2003 census revealed that more than 50% of students try an illegal drug before graduating high school. 85% of teens state that they have access to marijuana; 47% have access to cocaine; 39% have access to crack. What progress has the War on Drugs shown us? After 40 years of war with drug use, America still maintains the highest drug use rate in the world, with 43% of Americans having tried marijuana. This is higher than the Netherlands, a nation infamous for it's legal marijuana; only 19% of Dutchmen have tried marijuana. Every year, one million Americans are arrested for drug crimes. Every year, the drug trade makes $40 billion. Every year, the government spends $50 billion to fight drugs. Who is really suffering? Who is really winning this war? The American public has shown time and time again that it does not want to continue the War on Drugs. The statistics have shown time and time again that the War on Drugs has not shown significant results. We are spending billions of dollars to criminalize our young population for actions that harm no one. We are fighting a victimless crime. Continuing this war will only lead to a strengthened black market, a disillusioned public, and a massive crime rate. Our alternative is to end the drug war. Stop pouring billions of dollars into a failing effort. Stop sending millions of good Americans to jail. Maintain an illegal status on drugs, but do not spend billions of tax dollars to continue a failing offensive. We need to decide: our morals, or our future, the children of America?
Well written, but I don't get the ending. Keep it criminalized but cut all funding? There'd be cartels in every city. Legalize marijuana and allow adults to buy anything else in small amounts from a designated place (like coffee shops in the netherlands.) If the government truly wants to control the drug problem without bankrupting our country this is the only way.
thats pretty good man but yea fix the end keep everything illegal but end the war on drugs haha that would not work out too well with america but yea dude good job wait till you hit college youll be writing essay after essay ive been writing marijuana papers all year
I've lost many friends and some family to hard drugs. Clearly you're so young you don't yet understand just how serious of a problem it is and that it is NOT a victimless crime.
Simple solution. Decrim simple possession for ALL drugs but make the penalties for manufacture and distribution much harsher, weed excepted. Spend the money not wasted clogging up the courts and prisons on drug rehab, education, and awareness to remove the stigma of drug addiction so addicts might be more willing to seek help.
I like it but agree with the ending a bit. Having lost friends to hard drugs as well but fail to see how anybody else is responsible for the conscious decision of what a person takes or doesn’t. We could take gun and motorcycle makers to task as well I guess? I was a bit surprised that you wrote this so recently because in your op, I was wrongfully assuming that you may be an 80s red ribbon victim such as I am and you’d have been put to death for writing that during the Reagan years. HOPEFULLY we are seeing the final shots in what has been a long hard war for many.