Drug Legalization: The War on Drugs has been a failure.

The resolution states: The Federal War on Drugs has been a complete failrue, which should lead to all drugs within the United States of America being legalized.As Con I must prove that:A. The War on Drugs has not been a complete failureand/orB. Not all drugs should be legalized in the United StatesIf I prove either A or B to be true than the resolution has been negated. Pro must prove both A and B to be true to affirm the resolution.Social ContractIn any given society there is an inherent social contract between citizens and government. Citizens must give up certain rights and liberties in order to enjoy the benefits of being apart of the society. It is the governments duty to protect the rights and security of society.Legalization would increase the number of users.William J. Bennett writes, "When powder cocaine was expensive and hard to get, it was found almost exclusively in the circles of the rich, the famous, or the privileged. Only when cocaine was dumped into the country, and a $3 vial of crack could be bought on street corners, did we see cocaine use skyrocket." [1] Joseph A. Califano Jr., the founding president of the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University says that, "any "stamp of legality" on snorting cocaine or smoking crack would bring drugs a "new social acceptability," lead to a huge increase in the number of addicts and "light a new flame beneath health care spending." [2]It is only logical to believe that if all drugs are legalized there would be an increase in usage. There would be a social acceptance as Califano writes, and once there is accpetance more people would experiment and try drugs. Drugs, especially cocaine and methamphetamine, are incredibly addictive and if more people tried them more people would become addicted, and may never be able to stop.Drugs negatively impact society.One need only look back in history to China to see the effect drugs can have on a society. Opium effectively crippled the Chinese. They became addicted causing them to become lazy as a people and relient upon the British. [3]Now onto U.S. examples. In Chicago 83% of criminals arrested, tested positive for some form of illegal drug. [4]A report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that 80% of inmates across the nation were linked to alcohol or drug use. They had "violated drug or alcohol laws, had been high when they committed their crimes, had stolen to support their habit or had a history of drug and alcohol abuse that led them to commit crimes." [5] Now I understand that this number would not be as high if drugs were legalized because mere possesion would not be a criminal offense. But this still shows that drugs cause those under the influence to comit crime.What these statistics prove is that drugs alter the mind and cause citizens to comit crime. There are two impacts from this:1. If drugs are legalized and use increases the amount of crime would increase negatively impacting society.2. Even if use did not increase the very fact that drugs cause harm to society in this way means government cannot condone it, or it would be breaking it's social contract obligation.Another way drugs negatively impact society is the monetary burden. This includes costs from health care, crime, and loss productivity. The National Institue on Drug Abuse estimates that illegal drug use costs the US $181B every year. [6] This number would obviously grow if the number of users were to grow.Drug use not only affects society as a whole, but affects the individual. Pregnant mothers who use drugs have extreme negative affects on their child. Parents who use drugs affect their children when they are unable to hold a job, or properly raise their children. It also negatively impacts each of the individual employers who lose money from loss of productivity.The current War on Drugs has not been a complete failure.I cannot say that the war has been a total success because it has many flaws, and I would not argue that there is no need for a change in policy. However, there have been successes in the War on Drugs."Thirty-six people were arrested on Wednesday in a crackdown on a drug trafficking ring that used Puerto Rico's main airport to smuggle large quantities of cocaine off the island aboard U.S.-bound passenger flights, authorities said." [7] "Seventeen people were arrested in Southern California on charges of smuggling large quantities of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines into the United States from Mexico... This investigation has dealt a serious blow to a trafficking network we believe was funneling significant quantities of high-grade methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin into the Los Angeles area," Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles, said in a statement." [8]"A total of 168 bales of cocaine, worth more than $135 million, never made it on to the streets of America." [9] I could go on and on posting stories of where the U.S. has made various busts of dealers, suppliers, and storage facilities. My point is that the United States has had some success. No they have not been entirely successful, but the war has not been a complete failure.Sources:1. http://books.google.com...;(Page 225)2. http://www.nytimes.com...3. http://socyberty.com...4. http://www.suntimes.com...5. http://www.nytimes.com...6. http://www.drugabuse.gov...7. http://www.msnbc.msn.com...8. http://latino.foxnews.com...9. http://coastguard.dodlive.mil...