seems the government finally realized its “war on drugs” was not working out. the drug czar called for an end to the “war on drugs,” wanting to shift towards treatment instead of incarceration for drug users. this is great because drug addiction is a condition or a status, not a crime. people can’t help if they’re physically or mentally addicted to something; they have no control over themselves. instead of punishing people for something they can’t control, the government should be helping these people find ways to overcome their problems and kick their habits for good. this would keep users off the streets and people wouldn’t turn to desperate acts to obtain their drugs of choice. i think this is a step in the right direction. hopefully the government actually passes some new legislation to follow through with this change.. perhaps it can start by legalizing or at least decriminalizing marijuana.. or it can allow for the opening of clinics where addicts can receive some sort of treatment.
now that we’re heading in the right direction, maybe a day will come when we find an effective solution to the drug problem in america.
i think i read this somewhere else but i agree that this is a step in the right direction. we should be using our money on treatment options instead of wasting it on incarcerating nonviolent offenders.
ReplyDeleteMy take on drug education towards the war on drugs is that education promotes learning from mistakes. Whether taking drugs to a person is a mistake or something else is up to them. The more programs we enable in our country would push other drug supports underground. In turn it won't solve the problem. If you want to put out the fire you will need to prevent it at the source. Drugs need to be restructured in a way to remove its negative aspects. It sounds like a hard task but all in all its one of bigger obstacles we most overcome in order to grant change.
ReplyDeleteThe facts are out: Marijuana technically doesn't kill.
ReplyDeleteOh.. I didn't know the title was a link to the actual article. Well i dunno about this whole war on drugs. It seems like even if we take a step forward, we end up taking 2 steps back. I don't think we'll ever find a solution to the drug problem. We're always going to have a problem with is and the government is always going to exacerbate the issues at hand. Well, that's just my opinion anyway.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the first guy but this is only going to work if they really want the help, and a lot of the times they say they want the help but they really don't.
ReplyDeleteDanielle said...
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the whole steping forward or backward things, but passing a law to help people would be good but the major issue is why do these people start to take drugs. Drugs become a part of someone life as an escapt from the world, their family issue, and etc....i think that even if they make a new law to help people get out of drugs, they can still go back to drug because of issue in their life.
In all honesty, I have never really thought about the drug situation because Im not a drug user myself but it makes sense to help people with their problems. I guess youre right, you dont have a choice when youre addicted, its just something your body urges you to take, inject etc. The downfall of this is relapse, would it really be worth it to invest in a project for drug rehab when theres really a big chance that the people might just fall into temptation again. A lot of people dont want to be helped. Theres lots of free rehab centers but people choose not to go. Legalizing marijuana would just make more people buy it and use it because people wont be scared to do it. So it's kind of an iffy situation. Either way someone will probably come out losing
ReplyDeleteI agree with you statement, drug addiction is not a crime, it is a condition in which hundreds of people battle everyday.
ReplyDeleteBut because of these strong addictions, there will always be someone selling these goods to people, because there will always be someone using.
Free clinics/rehab would be a great asset, but most drug users are not that willing, most of them will be ignorant and stubborn about their using, and sometimes people need a harsh reality check to actually want to change.
But also stemming from that, even though there are people that are unwilling to change, there are also people that will want to change. So those clinics/rehab centers will be a very positive step for the users that accept their problems and devote themselves to change.
As far as legalizing marijuana, i feel like if that is ever done, there will be a huge uproar from the communities. Not everyone is as open-minded and accepting to this change. Parents, teachers etc will most likely feel a strong disagreement with legalizing marijuana, and the fact that it is accessible can even pose the threat of even more kids and young adults to start trying, and maybe even end up addicted themselves, so i think it's a huge risk to take.
But i do fully agree that the approach to "war on drugs" needs to be re-strategized, and this issue will be around for much much longer, because people are vulnerable and people are weak, were just humans
Although drug addiction is not a crime n itself, it can/does lead to people commiting crimes in order 2 obtain their drug of choice. There comes a point in ones life where they know right from wrong. Drugs can alter ones perception of things; so I do think helping people by creating some form of mandatory intervention for addicts will be more effective than incarceration. It would also free some of the occupied space in jails and prisons for "REAL" criminals. That may also result in lower taxes, because taxpayers won't have 2 pay 4 as many inmates.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the person above me. It would be good to help people so that they don't commit crimes and I think this would really help with the overcrowded problem at prisons. I feel like the corruption with private prisons is a result of overcrowding in state and federal prisons.
ReplyDeleteI don't think those kinds of drugs will ever be legalized. It's about politics and people wanted to further themselves. Unfortunately, this is why the drug war could never be won and that is why we will always be at war with our own.
ReplyDeletei agree with what you are saying. i think people should be helped to over come their addiction. but i feel like there is a difference between people addicted to drugs and people addicted to drugs but also are a part of illegal activity like selling. even if we try to help users i don't think we could ever have all the users off the street. and yes i think that we should not include marijuana under the illegal drug classification.
ReplyDeleteI think...this is good but there should be some sort of condition that must be met so that druggies don't take advantage of the free treatment.
ReplyDeleteI agree this is a step in the right direction, the so-called "war on drugs" needs to be rethought. Obviously, as history can show us, prohibition does not work!!
ReplyDeleteIn response to a few anoynmous postings above saying:
"Legalizing marijuana would just make more people buy it and use it because people wont be scared to do it"
and "the fact that it is accessible can even pose the threat of even more kids and young adults to start trying, and maybe even end up addicted themselves"
Look at it this way: what is accessible and addicting right now? LEGAL prescription and over-the-counter pills. No one can possibly argue that it is much safer to just take pill after pill than to use marijuana. There has never been ONE reported case of anybody dying from using marijuana, ever! A 2003 estimate states that prescription drugs contribute to 100,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone.
sources: http://www.truthout.org/111208HA;
http://www.health-report.co.uk/prescription_drugs_kill.html