Drug Use in America Essay - 1212 Words

Reefers Dangerous illegal drugs have plagued American citizens and their youth for as long as the country has been in existence. These harmful drugs are not only responsible for countless amounts of deaths, but the corruption of the American society in general. All too many times have these drugs been blamed for insanity, racism, rebellion, and straight up violence. Today the government is spending approximately $19.179 billion in one year to combat these evils (Gifford). Unfortunately, even with all of this effort going in to stop illegal drug use, the â€Å"War on Drugs† is yet to produce almost any positive results. Because of this, politicians are urging the government to spend even more money to combat the seemingly†¦show more content†¦Law enforcement officers in Amsterdam say that if anything, the availability of marijuana in coffee shops keeps kids away from the dangerous drugs. Unlike drug dealers houses that may also cocaine or heroin, the â€Å"c offee shops† only have marijuana (John Stossel). Before one can begin to explore why marijuana should be made legal, the factors going into the original ban on marijuana must first be known. Since the early 1900’s a great number Mexicans began to move across the border and find a new home in many of the southwestern states. Unfortunately, the American citizens at the time were not very welcoming. They viewed the massive Mexican immigration as a problem that needed to be dealt with. Unlike most Americans, many Mexicans used cannabis as a recreational drug by smoking it. American law makers used marijuana as a way to drive out the Mexican population. Even though at the time scientific research had been completed showing that the drug was not very dangerous, the government blamed the drug for all the negative qualities the American people viewed in the Mexicans. Harry Anslinger, head of the Bureau of Narcotics, began releasing waves of propaganda depicting the drug as extremely dangerous. He claimed that mar ijuana contributed to insanity, violence, and rebellion. Thousands of newspapers, magazines, and other sources of media depictedShow MoreRelatedDrug Use And Its Effects On America Essay1595 Words   |  7 PagesDrugs have been used throughout the world for thousands of years, whereas drug use has existed here in the U.S for a little over a hundred years. Regardless of the time of existance or when and why they were created, drug use is and has always been a major problem throughout our society. From the opium addicts of the late 1800s (The Drug Policy Alliance, 2016), the Rock and Roll heroine addicts of the 1960s and 70s, to the creation of a more affordable cocaine-like drug called crack in the 1980Read MoreCombating Drug Use in America1096 Words   |  5 PagesThe use of illegal drugs has plagued society for thousands of years. Illicit drugs use can be found all around the world. The War on Drugs is a term applied to a campaign on the prohibition of drugs of drug use, with the effort to reduced illegal drug trades. The current War on Drugs has affected our society physically and emotionally, and should end for the better of our society immediately. When the War on Drugs began, it was â€Å"The expectation that drug trafficking in the United States could beRead MoreAmerica s Drug Use Migration Essay962 Words   |  4 PagesAcross the country social shifts of the twenty first century has been the drug use migration. It goes from centers of urban poverty to places that are suburban, white and or middle class. Over the recent years, a third of all DEA heroin seizures took place in the state of New York. Drug abuse is rising and becoming deadlier than ever. Staten Island has become a particular nexus of affliction. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, heroin was considered to be a plague in some of New York City’s poorest neighborhoodsRead MoreThe Use Of Psychotropic Drugs Of America s Youth1351 Words   |  6 Pages Exploring Overmedication of Psychotropic Drugs of America’s Youth John C Cherry Technical College of the Lowcountry  Americans have become a pill-popping, overly-comfortably-numb society. Many Americans that seek care for their â€Å"ailments† are seeking for a prescription for a pill that will wipe their maladies away. This mentality of â€Å"there is a pill for everything†, along with the reckless prescribing of psychotropic drugs, has led America(especially its youth) to become largely overmedicatedRead MoreThe Trade and Use of Drugs in Latin America Essay1921 Words   |  8 PagesFilms often depict the trade and use of drugs in Latin America as an extremely violent situation. Countries like Columbia or Mexico are usually where the drugs come from while the United States are the destination. More times than not, Latin America plays the role of an antagonist while the United States plays the protagonist. A film about Latin America, when pertaining to the United States, can fall into one of three categories: fully Latin American, a joint effort between Latin American countriesRead M oreAnti-Drugs Policies in the 1960s Essay1006 Words   |  5 Pages Drugs have been influencing the ideas, culture, and music of America for ages. Illicit narcotics have left the Union in a state of immense debt. Anti-drug policies have been dumping billions upon billions of dollars in prevention, punishment, and rehabilitation. From the roaring twenties, to the prohibition, drugs have always been fought (Bailey). Most times, the drugs start off as medicines and end up being harmful (Morris). Perhaps, the most prominent and influential eras of drug use in AmericaRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?911 Words   |  4 PagesThe major debate in America today, is whether Marijuana should be legalized or kept illegal. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in America, of the nearly twenty million current drug users, 14.6 million are using marijuana (National 73) . Therefore, if marijuana is legalized in America, the number of users will skyrocket. Hence, marijuana should sta y illegal in America for the reason that if it is legalized, more adolescents would acquire the drug easier, roads will become more dangerousRead MoreAbstinence vs. Harm Reduction1733 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Abstinence Vs. Harm Reduction† â€Å"Drug policy regarding the control of the traditional illicit substances (opiates, cocaine, cannabis) is currently moving through upbeat times in almost all Western countries. Prohibition on the basis of repressive law enforcement not only seems to fail on a large scale, but also to create vast additional costs, problems, and harm for drug consumers, who often find themselves in extreme social, economic, and health conditions† (Fischer 1995: 389). Western countriesRead MoreIt Is Time to Legalize Marijana1700 Words   |  7 Pagesup, everyone is told that, â€Å"Drugs are bad for you,† time and time again. Now as a kid you don’t really understand the reasoning behind it, but you listen to your authority figure regardless. I remember being told this my entire life and even to this very day. But as I got older I realized that people would still use drugs even though it’’s illegal. I could never understand why someone would go against the law and jeopardize their life just to use drugs? The drug that I am talking about is marijuanaRead MoreThe Drug War Of America1407 Words   |  6 PagesThe drug war in America has shaped our society into what we know it as today, the war has so far been a failure where hundreds of millions of dollars, workforce, and policies have only served to maintain the same rates of usage as those in the 1970’s. When the drugs hit America, they hit hard. Overwhelmed by drugs showing up in almost every town, America decided to declare war. Drugs first surfaced in the late 1880’s with Opium. Opium at the time was the most in demand drug choice. Opium comes from