Pubdate: Tue, 17 Oct 2006
Source: Berkeley Daily Planet (US CA)
Copyright: 2006 The Berkeley Daily Planet
Contact:  http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1238
Author: Travis C. Ash
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

DO BENEFITS OF DRUG WAR OUTWEIGH THE COSTS?

Since the war on drugs began some $47 billion a year is reserved from 
federal, state, and local treasuries to combat the so-called menace 
that encompasses the trafficking, sales, and use of drugs directly 
affecting the citizens of the United States of America. This 
obviously reflects the government's view on the subject of drug abuse 
and related activities as very grave indeed.

It is apparently serious enough to lawmakers who deem it necessary to 
spend that insane amount of tax money, and commit entire agencies of 
human resources annually in an attempt to try and bring the problem 
to a halt. The trouble is that through all the searches and seizures, 
television campaign ads, and mandatory minimum sentencing there is no 
end in sight and it seems to have fueled a kind of evolution in the 
world of mind altering substances.

Has the use and proliferation of drugs actually come anywhere near to 
being reduced one may ask? It seems that there is still a rampant 
desire to obtain these illicits among the public with no short supply 
of those who are more than willing to supply these people who have 
become victims of psychological addiction, possibly brought on by the 
need to self-medicate in a society that breeds depression and despair 
among many socioeconomic levels.

Perhaps the resources that are available due to the taxes paid by 
many of these citizens should be applied to mental health outreach 
programs or even simply making information available on the root 
causes of unhappiness and depression in various degrees of life that 
we all go through.

Instead it appears that a majority of people are left to the wolves 
and are sometimes "forced" to obtain what they perceive as medication 
from much easier sources than "appropriate" channels that are not 
accessible to the common public.

So then there we are back to the arrest and incarceration of many 
users who have never been involved with any sort of violent crime, 
which one would think only fuels the fire of hopelessness and 
despondency that caused them to medicate in the first place due to 
the harsh conditions in the jails and prisons of the nation 
supposedly devoted to the "rehabilitation" of these lawbreakers.

A recent article in USA Today offers the point of view that most 
television ads over the years have actually convinced the youth 
population that "taking drugs is normal" through information gathered 
from the Government Accountability Office. The GAO is sanctioned by 
Congress and their job is to research whether or not programs 
initiated by the legislature are accomplishing the goals that they 
were designed to do, or perhaps convalescing into colossal failures.

One instance of failed policy seems to be the stubbornly coordinated 
"War on Drugs" that although has the best of intentions has missed 
the mark entirely.

This most recent report covers the $1.4 billion spent on attempts to 
curb the rise in use of MDMA more popularly known as "ecstasy". The 
GAO spent an additional $43 million on the investigation on the 
validity of the ads just to find that they were not useful tools in 
dissuading young people from taking these pills.

The office of current drug czar, John Walters, has disputed these 
findings based on the fact that the ads were used almost two and a 
half years ago (which strangely seems to be the time it takes to 
gather information on the results). They also countered through a 
survey conducted by the University of Michigan in 2005, that there 
has been a 5 percent decline in 10th graders who reported having used 
illicit drugs in the last year compared to statistics from 1998. Wow, 
seven long years of work involved in dissuading high schoolers to say 
no to drugs have really paid off, haven't they?

I think that drugs are certainly responsible for a portion of 
society's ills and we cannot let their black market run amok, 
unchecked by law enforcement officers on the beat, but how much 
evidence must we see in order to come to the conclusion that there 
needs to be a shift in strategy here? I don't know what positive 
effects might have occurred as a result of the seizures of large 
amounts of various drugs over the years. I would imagine however that 
this pressure has caused steep increases in the value of said product 
and the higher stakes involved have brought forth more violent means 
of control of this lucrative market. It also goes to reason that 
there would be less armed robberies and burglaries to pay for the 
high prices placed on the backs of those already addicted to the 
menace of crack cocaine and heroin through the free black market.

Perhaps the $600 per second that the federal government spends on its 
failing and unwavering strategy could be used more effectively when 
those in power no longer fear to admit that past reasonings on the 
issue were not perfect and should not be continued on the basis of 
ego issues that they most be the most proper simply because they were 
instigated by those who are in charge.

Travis C. Ash is a Richmond resident.

Opinions expressed in Daily Planet commentary and letters to the 
editor are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the 
view of the Daily Planet or its staff.
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