WAR ON DRUGS A LOSING BATTLE

We fight wars against other countries.

We fight wars within this country against crime. We fight wars within this
country against ideas we detest.

We fiercely battle some illegal activities then turn our backs on others
that are more significant.

The wars we fight are inconsistent, unpatterned, unorganized and sometimes
ineffective.

The wars we fight do not always require a military, though there is always
a force behind them.

The "War on Drugs" is an example of a useless war the United States has
fought for decades.

The battle began in the 1970s and since then had a snowball effect.

The ineffectiveness of the drug war is of no matter to policymakers. They
give it more money every year.

At the onset of the war, people did not carefully consider the consequences.

Today, the government is now aware of the outcome, yet it continues to
fight with increased fury every year.

Meanwhile, the government gives little money to treatment programs for drug
users.

Less than 10 percent is spent on rehabilitation and the rest on source
control, interdiction and law enforcement.

As a result of the drug war, we have police officers who run around in
camouflage like they're the militia looking for hardcore drug lords.
Usually, they find some poor guy in a trailer park with a sack of weed, $10
and a bong.

The drug war is supposed to target smugglers and dealers, but only about 25
percent of drug law violations are for possession of the substance,
according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

With statistics like the above one, the government should work to allocate
money to rehabilitation rather than retribution.

The "War on Drugs" might make police look like heroes to the public, but
all it takes is a quick look at the facts to realize just how silly the war is.

The famous "War on Drugs" logo infers we are fighting against someone.
Police are playing on the popular stereotype that drug users are the "bad
guys" who should be thrown in jail.

So the criminals will serve time in prisons where gangs, corruption and
rape is part of everyday life. Some of these drug users manage to
rehabilitate themselves despite the inhumane nature of prison. Most will not.

When they get out of jail and are thrown back into society, they are likely
to become repeat offenders. Then people will wonder why.

Because of the huge problems with the current system, every person
convicted of a drug law violation should be given the opportunity for
rehabilitation. If the government spent more money on treatment programs,
some of the other problems associated with the drug war would diminish.

Prison overcrowding would drop. The country could spend less to support
convicts if more money was put toward drug treatment. It costs around
$23,000 a year per inmate for incarceration. To treat a drug user costs
anywhere from $2,000 to $7,000.

The homicide rate would also decline.From the 1900s to the 1990s, homicide
was at its highest during the prohibition of alcohol and the modern day
drug war, according to U.S. Census Data and FBI Uniform Crime Reports.

A few years ago, Arizona tried a new system which offered drug treatment in
place of prison for non-violent offenders.

Taxpayers saved over $2 million and 77.5 percent of drug possession
probationers tested negative for drug use after the program, the State of
Arizona Supreme Court said in a recent report.

Other states should follow Arizona's lead. The crime rate cannot get much
worse with a change in policy -- the country basically has nothing to lose.

Police should also stop calling their enforcement of drug legislation the
"War on Drugs" and start trying to help the so-called enemies they are
fighting.

Ultimately, the drug users we demonize will end up back on the street
whether or not they are rehabilitated. Would you rather walk the same
streets as the drug user who just got out of prison after five years or the
one who is reformed?

The war was lost before it began. It's time the government tried a
different approach.