History Research Paper: War on Drugs

War on Drugs
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Abstract
The use of drugs for medicinal and recreational purposes was a convention in the historical past but the advent of civilization changed it dramatically. The use of some drugs was illegal as early as the 18th century, but the prohibition era fueled the criminalization of drug abuse and drug trafficking, leading to a series of legislations that eventually led to the declaration of war on drugs by president Richard Nixon in 1971. The president took drastic measures in a bid to fight the drug war, some of which still are applicable in the contemporary era. Criticism, both positive and negative, have helped shape the conversation around the war on drugs, igniting meaningful reforms on the policies and strategies used in the fight. However, the perception that the fight has done more harm than good is overwhelming and possibly likely to influence future trends in the approaches used to fight drugs and drug abuse. The fact that there is still widespread abuse of drugs in the United States is a clear indication that the system is broken, and drastic measures need to be taken. Some states have initiated the processes of legalizing some schedule I drugs while treating drug addiction as a health concern rather than a criminal act.
Keywords: War on Drugs, criminalization, policies on drugs, legalizing, drug addiction, drug trafficking
War on Drugs
Introduction
Drug use in the United States was meant for medicinal and recreational purposes until the 19th century when some states imposed legislation that either banned or restricted consumption of some drugs. The fact the drug business was lucrative at the time influenced Congress to raise taxation of morphine and opium (Redford & Powell, 2016). Before the prohibition era, a few other acts had been enacted in a bid to fight drug abuse, examples being the Smoking Opium Exclusion Act of 1909 and the Harison Act of 1914, which imposed several restrictions on cocaine and opiates (Redford & Powell, 2016). The 18th amendment that marked the start of the prohibition era succeeded the Harrison Act, banning the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcohol. The Prohibition Act also outlined the enforcement guidelines during the prohibition era. The era was characterized by a lot of llegalities, giving birth to organized crimes and powerful and brutal crime syndicates that eventually led to the repeal of the act in 1933. Several other laws were enacted not necessarily banning the use of hard drugs but rather imposing hefty penalties and taxation in a bid to curtail their excessive use.
The end of World War II marked the beginning of the extensive use of illicit drugs. Before the 1950s, alcohol, and cigarettes were the most commonly abused illicit drugs. A dramatic change in the use of illicit drugs was witnessed in the 1950s as eight additional drugs joined the list of the most abused drugs. The changes have been attributed to several factors including the large numbers of young adults, familial derogations, drastic changes in beliefs and values, and the shifts in the drug market (Seddon, 2016). The government officials and the experts had noticed the worrying trends of drug abuse and its effect in fueling rebellion, con...