newgrowerNY

Drug war overhaul
02.27.07|statenews com

For years, the United States has been fighting a seemingly endless battle with no clear solution in sight, against an enemy that threatens to tear our society apart.
No, I'm not talking about the debacle happening halfway around the world in Iraq — I'm referring to the War on Drugs.

In 1971, former president Richard Nixon opened the floodgates for the modern day "war on drugs," declaring illicit substance abuse "America's public enemy No. 1." Thus began America's full-frontal assault to attempt to bring the drug market to a screeching halt.

The Nixon administration may have gotten the message, but its plan for eliminating the problem was completely wrong.

The government believes that the winning formula for the war on drugs revolves around disrupting the production and distribution markets for illicit substances. Its hopes are to a) disrupt the market as much as possible in order to raise the final cost of the product ridiculously high so that users simply cannot afford to continue their habit, and b) enforce stiff penalties so that no one in their right mind would ever dream of using, producing or dealing drugs.

This might work temporarily to bust up drug cartels and impede production, but it really just helps create more setbacks and does not address the root cause of the problem.

I'm not trying to argue whether drug use is right or wrong, but rather that the approach our government has taken is faulty and, in the long run, fails to solve the dilemma at hand.

There are two main flaws I see with this approach to fighting the war on drugs in the United States.

First of all, as long as human beings have walked this planet, there have always been certain people looking to get high. Drug use is not a 21st-century concept; it has been around for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians were some of the first to brew beer, and the Native Americans cultivated and used marijuana.

That being said, it is impossible to rid the entire population of the desire to use drugs simply because it has been ingrained in our society for so long. For many, the urge to use will always be there no matter how high the price is inflated.

Second, although the punishment for production or distribution of illegal drugs is incredibly high, there are enormous incentives for those who can get away with it. In part, this is due to prices being inflated to incredible amounts, but more importantly, due to a lack of any other opportunity available to those willing to take the chance.

This is where the origin of the problem lies. There will always be a market for drug use. Producers within our country and abroad will always exist so long as there is a market.

So what's the solution? Snip out the middleman.

It's the average, low-level street corner drug dealer who keeps the cycle perpetuating — not the Pablo Escobars of the world or even the casual users and chronic drug abusers.

The solution to the war on drugs, as I see it, is to eliminate the pawns of the drug trade by instead focusing on the war on poverty. Throwing people in jail won't solve the problem, but improving the conditions of their environment and giving them more opportunities and incentives to earn an honest buck will.

With opportunities few and far between, it is no surprise to see that often, the poor get involved with the drug trade. Selling drugs can offer a quick fix to those who struggle just to survive and live from paycheck to paycheck. This can seem like the only way possible to make it out of poverty, and we must work to help change this idea.

Increasing the minimum wage is a good start, and providing tax breaks for those who need it most instead of the wealthy elite would be even better. Eliminating the rising cost of a college education and improving our health care system also are vital in the fight against poverty.

The war on drugs will only be successful if poverty is eliminated in this country.

The deck is already stacked against those who would benefit most from working the drug trade, but there are measures we can take to turn things around.