US Policy toward the War on Drugs is ineffective

Introductory: Police chief Nick Pastore said " If you think everyone who uses drugs is the enemy, you're more likely to declare war on the people." Resolution: US Policy toward the War on Drugs is ineffective Brief Definitions: Drugs= illegal substances that are for getting high or self-medicating War on Drugs= policies made in response to opposing the creation, distribution and consumption of drugs Ineffective= not causing the desired or intended result Value: Public well-being The purpose of the War on Drugs is to improve the quality-of-life of Americans. Drugs serve a great danger to the communities. Health, Social, and Economic costs exist and therefore justice must be served to those that bring this danger to American society. However, since justice is used to pursue this purpose to improve the-quality-of- life and Americans pay taxes to fund it this must be justified with efficiency. Criteria: Efficiency, Justice, and Quality-Of-Life will be the measure of this. Efficiently relates to performing tasks in an organized way in which is capable of achieving the desired result with the minimum use of resources, time, and effort Justice relates to fairness or reasonableness in the way people are treated or decisions or made, and the act of applying or upholding the law. Issue 1. Has US policy been efficient? A. United States spent more than $4 trillion on the War on Drugs in 2008 B. 1 .The two most efficient programs were Weed & Seed which cost 32 million in 2008, around $967 thousand per 1% result of a total of 33% http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov... 2.Drug Free Communities 79 million in 2008 $1.8 million per 1% result at a total of 42% this program had the highest rate of success above all other drug programs 3. DEA spent 2.8 billion in 2008 over $108 billion per 1% of results while effectively only getting 26% of results. http://www.whitehouse.gov... (Under category of Results and Accountability) C. United States in 2009 discontinued the effective program of Weed & Seed. They ONDCP also cut funding for the Drug Free Communities program despite criticism from Senator Grassley, Chairman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus of it being the most successful program in the fight against the Drug War. http://www.jointogether.org... Issue 2: Has the War on Drugs respected justice? No, civilian police are trained to keep the peace, and protect our rights, while upholding our civil liberties. The federal government erodes these principles in pursuit of fighting the drug war. A. Government pays professional "snitches" who tip off police in exchange for leniency or cash rewards for information leading to arrest. 1A National Law Journal found money paid to informants jumped from $25 million in 1985 to $97 million in 1993 2a. In 2004 in Riverside, Ca there had to be a review of 15 convictions as it was revealed that a confidential informant routinely used in drug raids was planting drugs in suspects cars. This is one of many incidents. B. Provides financial incentive to violate Civil Rights 1b. Extra funding through grants the federal government offered a large amount of funding for drug policing (could offset SWAT team funding), bringing no additional funding to other programs Asset forfeiture laws allow police departments to keep and sell assets involved in drug raids. Therefore violating civil rights enable the profit of law enforcement agencies. C. Drug War Policy puts pressure on law enforcement to act against constitutional interests A. Swat deployments in the 1980's started at 3,000 but by 2001 increased to 40,000 annually. A2.SWAT are paramilitary police units often used in the war on drugs. Their tactics involve no-knock raids which are against constitutional interest, and therefore justice.(shows change in incentive policy) A3. In 1999 Less than 1% of weapons seized by law enforcement in the US fit the definition of an "assault weapon" showing the danger faced is rare. A4. In comparison SWAT encounters showed a 34% increase in the use of deadly force by police in the 5 year period of 1994-1998. 1C. Denver judges found that judges had denied 5 out of 163 no-knock applications over a year period. 2C. In Denver out of 146 no knock raids only 2 resulted in prison time These are not desiring results and therefore are not effective Issue 3: Does the War on Drugs impact the quality-of-life of Americans negatively? A. SWAT encounters in 1994-1998 showed a 34% increase in the use of deadly force by police over that 5 year period. B.Stacy Renee Walker was caught in the crossfire on the War on Drugs. She was shot dead while she clung to her child. It is US policy revolving around the War on Drugs that enabled this to happen. http://www.cato.org... http://www.cato.org... War on Drugs is in effective because in the pursuit of US Policy on the War on Drugs. It allows criminals to profit or benefit through exploiting US policy. This enables exploiting a ‘Russian Roulette' method a gamble of innocent or guilty. It allows law enforcement to act upon incentive of finances over law. It aswell is ineffective. It is a waste of American's tax dollars as in comparison to tackle the supply side of the War on Drugs cost approx $108 million per percent compared to $967 thousand per percent result. The War on Drugs is ineffective aswell due to the fact that it does not do as intended. It therefore wastes both time, resources, and effort, in direct opposition to their intended goal to reduce the negative impacts of drugs. I look forward to your response, as we are both allies in the pursuit of the ultimate truth. Furthermore,I gratefully thank my audience who will be the judges of our nobility toward our pursuits for this greater truth. Thank you http://blog.drugpolicy.org... "Its hard to overlook the fact that soldiering-up of civilian police forces it taking place as part of the larger War on Drugs, which grows more saturated with war imagery, tactics, and phraseology everyday." Radley Balko policy analyst specializing in civil liberties stated this.