DRUG WAR OVERHAUL

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.

David McAllister is an MSU psychology and human resources and society
senior and State News columnist.