Drug Decriminalization In The United States. The Unitedstates

Drug Decriminalization in the United States The United States has been engaged in a â€Å"war† for nearly 25 years. It is a war with unclear goals; ending the war in a victory is made nearly impossible due to subjective statistics and hazy results. At the heart of this continuing struggle, the â€Å"war on drugs,† is the fundamental question: Is this a battle the United States can win? It is likely everyone will agree drugs are harmful; they have serious medical side-effects. Drugs are addictive; they can ruin a family, a job, a life. The war is continued with the goal of eradicating the drug epidemic. With that in mind, the war on drugs has had a minimal impact on drug use in the United States. Instead, it has created a military police force,†¦show more content†¦Legalizing marijuana in these states has proven to be effective in reducing the black market. The effect on crime seems to have been as one would predict. Colorado’s authorities reckon licensed sales—about 90 tonnes a year—now meet 70% of total estimated demand, with much of the rest covered by a â€Å"grey† market of legally home-grown pot illegally sold. In Washington licensed sales accounted for only about 30% of the market in 2014, according to Roger Roffman of the University of Washington. Washington’s large, untaxed and rather wild-west â€Å"medical† marijuana market accounts for a lot of the rest. Still, most agree that Colorado’s lower prices have done more to make life hard for organised crime (Estabrook, 2016). Even with only a few states where marijuana is legal in the U.S, the effects of legalization on the drug cartel are clear. As published in Time Magazine, â€Å"The U.S. Border Patrol has been seizing steadily smaller quantities of the drug, from 2.5 million pounds in 2011 to 1.9 million pounds in 2014. †¦ Mexico’s army has noted an even steeper decline, confiscating 664 tons of cannabis in 2014, a drop of 32% compared to the year before† (Grillo, 2015). Grillo also notes a decrease in violence coinciding with legalization. Rehabilitation is more effective than Prohibition Perhaps a large part of the reason that american drug laws are so ineffective is that the focus is on the punishment, rather than