Sociology

The War on Drugs is the prohibition efforts by the United States government, with the help of some other participating countries. The aim of the campaign is to define and reduce the illegal trade on drugs. The campaign includes some laws and policies intended to stop the production, distribution and use of drugs and other illegal substances. The term War on Drugs has been in use in the United States since the era of President Nixon. The question is whether or not the campaign as been a success in fighting against drug use in the United States.  

The drug policy has been successful in reducing the amount of marijuana being imported into the country illegally. Despite the efforts made against drugs in the United States, illicit drugs have become cheaper, purer and easily available. It is argued that most of the problems that the drug war aims at solving are as a result of the drug war itself. The drug-related crimes are a direct outcome of drug prohibitions bend of the immutable laws of supply and demand. Diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C are being spread because the zero tolerance has limited access to clean needles. There are a lot of people who have been incarcerated affecting their childrens health, education, addiction and delinquency. In fact the United States imprisons the highest number of people for drug-related crimes than any other country in the world. People that are suffering from cancer and other debilitating ailments have been denied access to medical marijuana.  

The war on drugs has brought no change in the availability and incidence of drugs. Due to prohibition of exports, it has increased potency and growth of the marijuana inside the United States. There has also been an increase in smuggling of cocaine which is much easier to move and yield a very high profit margin.  

Conclusion
Drug abuse is bad but the Drug War has proven to be worse. The war on drugs has compromised public health and undermined the basic civil rights for so long. It is for these reasons that an end to the drug war should be considered.