However, throughout the Twenties the drinking rate rose, despite Prohibition, and it was on the rise when Prohibition was repealed. By contrast, drug use is down in every age group and across all sectors of society, and it is continuing to fall. In 1992, only 13 per cent said they had. The drug war targets three specific factors that affect the drug-use rate, namely the availability of drugs, the perceived risk of arrest or legal sanction, and the perceived risk to personal health. As far as drug availability is concerned, the drug war has been a total failure.
Drugs are as widely available now as they ever have been.
Remember, though, studies indicate that the perceived risk of arrest is often ignored by drug users. Finally, health-education programs are widely promoting the belief that drugs are bad for bodily and mental health. So, the war on drugs may be having an effect. But it is important to understand that that effect is created through several approaches. And they might then have the resources that now go wastefully toward trying to decrease availability, and toward arresting people.