Why the War on Drugs Failed

Crime, Marijuana, Politics

The phrase “War on Drugs” was coined by Richard Nixon in 1971, but is primarily associated with Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign and the many changes President Reagan made to the United State’s drug policies in the 1980s. While these policies looked good on paper, they failed catastrophically, leading to more powerful drug cartels, dramatically overcrowded prisons, and a greater-than-ever supply of and demand for illegal drugs.

In June 2011, a high-profile commission made up of global leaders, former Presidents, and even a Nobel laureate, released a report concluding that attempts to lower demand for drugs have had “devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.”

So, how do stricter laws and a lower tolerance for illegal drug trafficking and use lead to an increase in drug-related crime? Where did drug-reducing policies go wrong?

A Review of the War on Drugs

President Reagan’s administration was responsible for passing the bulk of the drug control laws which have led to the “devastating consequences” outlined in the Global Commission on Drug Policy’s report. Reagan’s draconian policies included mandatory minimum sentences for drug charges regardless of context or amount, federal sentencing guidelines that gave all the power to the prosecutors, and allowing the death penalty for “drug kingpins.” The problem with these policies is that they catch far more non-violent addicts and small-timers than kingpins, and have filled our prisons with millions of people needing rehab, not incarceration. These policies ruin lives and families, but do nothing to curb the illegal drug industry. Evidence shows that approaching the drug problem with strict law enforcement policies makes it worse.

The Failure

Here are a few examples of what the War on Drugs has accomplished:

•    Higher profits for cocaine cartels and a tenfold increase in coca production between 1980 and 1990.

•   The U.S. having the highest incarceration rate in the world, with prisoners who are disproportionately African-American.

•    A highly profitable black market and a steady increase in violent crime.

•    An increase in organized crime, political corruption, and judicial corruption.

•    Federal government spending of about $500 per second on the War on Drugs (that’s over $15 billion per year), plus at least $25 million spent per year by state and local governments.

Meanwhile, abusers and traffickers of prescription drugs have gone all but ignored.

Communities of Color

Aside from actually increasing crime, corruption, and profits for drug cartels, the War on Drugs unjustly targets people of color. African-Americans make up 12 percent of the general population in the U.S., yet they make up 62 percent of the drug offenders sent to prison. Black men are 13 times more likely to be sent to prison on drug charges than white men. Experts tell us that the higher levels of poverty among people of color force them to conduct drug transactions in public more frequently, which makes them easy targets. However, arresting low-level users and dealers–many of whom are trapped in a cycle of poverty, addiction, and mental illness–does nothing to stop drug production and trafficking, fills prisons with people who need help, and destroys families.

Recommendations for Change

The Commission recommends making sweeping changes to the current strategy of criminalizing drug use, and also points out that the War on Drugs is a civil and human rights disaster, and that drug use and abuse is a social problem and should be approached as such. This would mean ending the criminalization, stigmatization, and marginalization of people who use drugs but do not harm others. They suggest offering a range of treatment options, including heroin-assisted treatment that has proven successful in Europe. Handling drug users and those involved in the lower levels of drug markets with human rights and harm reduction principals is another important step, as is focusing remaining law enforcement efforts on violent organized crime and drug traffickers rather than the little guys. Finally, the Commission strongly recommends that governments try legalizing some drugs, especially marijuana, with appropriate regulation. This last step ensures the safety of users and takes the power out of the hands of organized crime.