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  • Essay / Prohibition Destroys America - 1547

    The War on Drugs began with good intentions, but it is becoming clear that this battle is a failure. Not only do drug laws violate Americans' freedoms, they make life even more difficult for drug addicts. These laws have inadvertently been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people from bad drug deals and dirty drugs, which begs the question: "Is this a war on drugs or a war on drug users? Body bags and HIV have become the most well-known side effects of drug prohibition. Contrary to what many believe, drug use will never be eliminated. Only through legalization and strict state-controlled regulations can the violent and deadly consequences of drug laws be controlled. By making these substances available, the drugs themselves will be safer and cheaper, government spending and the prison population will decrease, and, most importantly, Americans will be freer. In 1920, the federal government banned a substance they believed was destroying America, alcohol. Millions of Americans would shut down at the thought of not attending midweek happy hour after a long day at work. But the right to drink alcohol was taken away from Americans by the federal government under the Volstead Act of 1920 (Behr). Over the next thirteen years, more than $733 million of today's money was spent putting Americans behind bars for petty crimes, like drinking a martini at a local speakeasy (Barbour). With alcohol no longer being manufactured by trusted companies like Anheuser-Busch, it was now in the hands of black market racketeers like Al Capone (Behr). Due to the decreasing availability of alcohol, more potent forms, such as moonshine, became very popular and in New York in 1926, "bad liquor" claimed the lives of 750 people (Behr) . ...... middle of paper ...... above. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. 2000. Print. Barnett, Randy E. “The Harmful Side Effects of Drug Prohibition.” Utah Law Review 2009.1 (2009): 11-34. Academic research completed. Internet. March 22, 2012. Behr, Edward. Ban: thirteen years that changed America. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1996. Print. Gerdes, Louise I., ed. At issue: the legalization of drugs. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. 2001. Print. Miron, Jeffrey A. and Katherine Waldock. "The budgetary impact of ending drug prohibition". CATO Institute. CATO Institute, September 27, 2010. Web. March 22, 2012.Rogers, Douglas. “The Prohibition Fiasco.” Freeman: Ideas on Liberty 61.1 (2011): 25. MasterFILE completed. Internet. March 22, 2012. United States. Ministry of Justice. Office of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Facts about drugs and crime. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Ministry of Justice, March 2012. Web. March 22. 2012.