Reducing Drug Trafficking in the United States

The fight against drugs was first called the "War on Drugs" in 1971, by Nixon and he called drug abuse "public enemy No. 1. Reducing drug trafficking in the United States is of vital importance to all U.S Citizens. The United States has been fighting drug trafficking since the 1900's. The dilemma facing the United States government is how exactly to stop the drugs from being trafficked into the U.S border.

If the U.S is going to reduce drug trafficking it is of up most importance to also reduce the demand for the drugs. The war on drugs has become the longest, deadliest and most important war that the United States has ever fought. More time and resources should be delegated to stopping the demand for the drugs in the U.S. The demand for drugs must be stopped or at least greatly reduced in order to reduce the need for the drugs making it into the United States. If the volume of drug users is greatly decreased then the drugs coming across the border in turn will be decreased.

The task of reducing drug trafficking may be one of the most important goals that Americans can work towards. Reducing drug trafficking in the United States is not only important for today's generation, it is important for the safety, health and well-being of all future generations.

Creechan (2006) notes that, "Drug cartels in Mexico control approximately 70% of the foreign narcotics that flow into the United States." Mexican cartels allegedly have used their vast financial resources to corrupt Mexican public officials who either turn a blind eye to cartel activities or work directly for them. Cook, C. Q. (2007, October). P.2. Having corrupt police on the side of drug cartels makes reducing drug trafficking even more difficult. Since 2005, the Mexican government has made numerous efforts to purge corrupt police. Cook, C. Q . (2007, October).

In 2008, it was estimated that $16.7 billion was spent by the U.S, since 2001 on the war on drugs. Salinas (2008) retrieved March 6^th 2011 from http://www.seattlepi.com/opinion/365506_salinas03.html

In 2011, an EU Commission study confirmed that the use and production of drugs had remained mostly unchanged since 1998. Hakim, P. (2011). It seems stopping drugs from coming into the United States is proving to be a very hard task to accomplish. One must then try to focus on an alternative. As of now the United States is focusing their resources and time on stopping the drugs getting through the U. S borders. The United States should focus some attention on stopping the demand for drugs. The demand for drugs can be reduced by creating a program where each and every person arrested for any crime concerning drugs must go through a rehab program.

The prison sentences for drug related crimes are not stopping the drug trafficking problem, at the most they just delay what the person was doing until they serve their sentence and are released back into society.

Amy Nunn stated that "Pharmacological treatment of opiate dependence is a proven intervention, is cost-effective and reduces drug-related disease and re-incarceration rates, yet it remains underutilized in U.S. prison systems." Hollmer, M. (2009) With pharmacological treatment being a proven aid to stopping the dependency of opiate drug use it seems only logical to offer the treatment to inmates and also offer rehab treatments for other types of drug addicts.

Then there isAndrew Stoner who recommends a coalition government that would "create a specialist drug treatment facility to ensure up to 300 drug addicted prisoners receive treatment and are given the opportunity to get off drugs. Stab at Rehab (2011)

Santa Cruz County enacted Proposition 36 in 2000, which is a drug intervention aid for second -time nonviolent; drug possession offenders that were given the chance to receive substance-abuse treatment instead of jail time. "Prop. 36 at its peak was helping 36,000 people a year, and a UCLA study said every $1 invested in Prop. 36 treatments saved the state between $2.50 and $4 in incarceration costs. That added up to $2 billion in savings." Josh Richman (2011) It seems only logical that with $2 billion in savings and 36,000 substance abusers being helped to beat their drug addictions that proposition 36 should be in every prison and available and mandatory for all inmates incarcerated due to drug related crimes.

How is the U.S. winning the "War on Drugs" with the methods being used when an FBI Crime statistics report released on September 15, 2009 states that every "18 seconds, an American is busted for drug possession?" Patrik Jonsson. (2009).

The United States must try other methods along with stopping the drugs from making it across our borders. The statistics above show that we must stop the drug dependencies that American citizens have, in order to help win the war on the drugs. If rehab becomes a mandatory part of the jail sentence it will help the United States work towards their goal of stopping drug trafficking. . For each person that can effectively go through rehab, and come out clean then that is one less person who will be helping the trafficking of the drugs that are making it into the United States.

While many will argue that mandatory rehab puts another financial burden on the United States or that rehab doesn't work. The answer to them is that in the long run the financial burden will prove to be a money saving investment. The less drug addicts and drug dealers the country has will result in less drug related crimes, deaths, prison inmates, and reduce drug trafficking. This in the wide scheme of things will prove to be a money saving program for the United States.

Fred Reed from the Washington Times says "Judges know rehab, counseling and therapy generally don't work. But neither does prison. Both prisons and rehab are part of a poorly functioning system that can't change either it or the cities." Reed. F. (1999). While it is true that rehab does not always work, it does work a lot of the time for some people. If even just a few thousand or a few hundred a year are helped it will help them and help aid in the fight against drugs. Each rehab success is not just a success for the drug abuser it is a success for the United States. Not all medical procedures work, should doctors stop helping the sick because it might not work for the majority of patients, or should the doctors save those they can? Of course the answer is save those you can. The same holds true for drug abusers. Each person is worthy of the chance of being saved and mandatory drug rehab must become a part of the judicial system.

Prisons have given inmates the tools to get an education, learn a trade, and drug rehab if they wanted to pursue these things. Making drug rehab mandatory for those convicted of drug related crimes is another step that should be taken to at least lesson the amount of inmates who leave prison and return to the use and distribution of drugs. For first time offenders that did not involve a violent crime the sentence could be probation and a drug rehab program verses jail time. If they were tested positive during this time for drug use then they would be sent to prison.

Drug addiction is a disease. A disease cannot be cured with jail time. A person addicted to drugs who is sent to jail will still have the addiction and will return to using and trafficking drugs when released from prison. The drug addict must get help in order to beat the disease. Rehab is not a guarantee to get every drug addict off of drugs, but for each person that it does help that is one less person contributing to the drug trafficking problem in the United States, it is one more life saved.

In regards to the cost of drug rehab, a report from the National Substance Abuse Treatment Services Survey shows that the average cost for inpatient programs was about $7,000 per month. Since more than 30 days produces a higher recovery rate, the cost of drug rehab can easily go between $7,500 and $75,000. A typical cost is usually going to be about $36,000 for a 90-day program. Retrieved March 6 2011 from http://www.drug-alcohol-rehabs.org/drug- rehab-cost.html the cost may seem high when you consider how many people will have to serve the mandatory rehab however, that cost will be greatly decreased when it is the government that wants these services to be available for the prison inmates. The prisons can have the staff on site and the inmates will be able to get the drug rehab they need while they are incarcerated.

Some problems cannot be eradicated until the source is taken out of the picture. If the U.S is going to reduce drug trafficking it is of upmost importance to also reduce the demand for the drugs. The demand for drugs must be tackled along with stopping the drugs from getting across the border into the U.S. before the United States can ever truly win the war on drugs.