War On Drugs
Can the government stop illegal drug trade?
Background Info
- The War on Drugs started on July 1974.
- It started when President Richard Nixon created the "Special Message to the Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control.,"
- Cartels such as the Mafia controlled the drug trade.
- Drugs are normally grown in Columbia and Mexico are easily brought across the US and Mexican border.
- Once in the country, they are distributed to the big cities, suburbs and small towns.
- "International drug traffickers deal mostly with large quantities of drugs, selling to dealers who then sell the drugs to users."
Causes
- The technology that the drug dealers use are much better than the local police force.
- Bribery and Corruption in Government is a growing problem.
- Dealers bribe or threaten government officials to either let them out or look the other way.
- Modern technology makes stopping the drug trade difficult.
- Some new technology include encryption devices, better guns and even bulletproof vests.
"Because there is so much money to be made in the illegal drug trade, gangs often fight over turf. This violence can extend to law enforcement personnel, witnesses, and prosecutors, who are often threatened or harmed."
- The drug demand has increased greatly in the last 5 years.
Effects
- The Drug Enforcement Administration was created by President Nixon on July 1974 to enforce the drug laws.
- "States are obsessed by the fear that people will use controlled medicines such as morphine as recreational drugs, thereby neglecting their important medical uses."
- This means that people are worried that people won't be able to get medicine in fear of giving to a drug dealer.
- The D.E.A created the El Paso Intelligence Center which increased the security of the border.
- This helped to keep possible smugglers out of the country.
- The D.E.A also started to educate the children in America that drugs are not good for you and showed them the health risks of taking drugs.
- "When youth perceive that drug use is harmful and risky, drug use dramatically declines."
- They also made sites like http://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.com/ and http://www.justthinktwice.com/
Conclusion
Bibliography
Works Cited
Buying illegal drugs. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 15 Dec 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/132_1267476/1/132_1267476/cite
The DEA badge. Digital image. Wikimedia. Wikimedia, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2015.
DEA. "Just Think Twice." National Survey on Drug Use and Health. DEA, July 2000. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
"DEA.gov / Prevention / Program Overview." DEA.gov / Prevention / Program Overview. U.S. Drug Enforcement Adminstration, July 1973. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. <http://www.dea.gov/prevention/overview.shtml>.
Dennis D. Potokar / Photo Researchers / Universal Images Group
Rights Managed / For Education Use Only
Dreifuss, Ruth, Anand Grover, and Michel Kazatchkine. "'War on Drugs Means Millions Are Dying in Pain' - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 09 Dec. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/17/opinions/controlled-medicines-access-gcdp/>.
"Drug Abuse." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
GUSTOIMAGES / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Universal Images Group
Rights Managed / For Education Use Only
Richard Nixon: "Special Message to the Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control.," June 17, 1971. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=3048.