A Drug Haven for the Underground
That’s what the War on Drugs is; countries like Mexico and America have created the perfect opportunity for cartels, gangs and underground groups to smuggle illegal drugs in and out of state boundaries. By outlawing illegal drugs, the ones that get their hands on those drugs usually happen to be the people that break the law in the first place. In a similar concept, if guns are outlawed, you would still find gang bangers find other ways to obtain weapons, like they always did, through the down low. Making weapons or drugs illegal only affects the population that actually follow the law. If we carefully change how we treat those that are affected by drugs we can stop overcrowding prison populations and help curb drug trafficking throughout the continent.
By outlawing the distribution and sales of certain drugs like marijuana, our government loses the opportunity to control the market by carefully monitoring and handling an extremely influential narcotic. Certain states like Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana sales and have seen profits soar through the roof. Last year in 2015, Washington made a profit of $67.5 million dollars on the sale of marijuana alone. It is expected to make twice that amount in 2016. This money was used “ toward its general fund and health-related services.” (Smith)
Over the decades, criminals have found ways to effectively distribute drugs with little to no resistance. With either violence or money, one person can buy off another. There are many instances in which officials are bribed and become crooked. There are also instances in which politicians are shady to begin with. The money just happens to be in the right place. There is power in Law, and corporations know this. Private prisons have been built all over the United States, and are very influential in federal and local cases when it comes down to the verdict.
Criminalizing those in possession of drugs is absolutely the wrong way to handle things. Every day we see overcrowded prison populations rise. A large number of the population of these prisons usually are convicts that have been charged for a non-violent offense, and with something related to drug possession. Up to 50.1% of the national U.S. prison population are convicts that have been convicted for a drug related offense. (Miles) The answer to how we should deal with possession of drugs isn't prison time, it should be treatment and rehabilitation. By treating those in need, we can hopefully get them to be a productive member in society. Instead of a prisoner rotting away in a prison cell.
Money is the sole reason why drug cartels exist. If the state of Washington collected $67.5 million dollars in taxes alone in one year for only the sale of marijuana. Imagine how much larger the amount of money cartels rake in with the sale of other drugs throughout entire countries. It could be Billions.
Violence is in our history. Thousands are killed in wars that surround the globe. Currently as we work our jobs and attend our classes, people are abducted, abused, tortured, and killed in the most unspeakable ways possible. These people are murdered by cartels and gangs. Groups that are huge and powerful enough to run some of the largest underground trades all over the country. Maybe even as large as the corporations we see on television, but without the reputation. The narcotics isn't the drug, the money is.
