Editor’s note: in future viewIn this article, the students discussed efforts to curb illegal drug use. Next week we will ask, “There has been an increase in border crossings at the US-Mexico border this year. What should be done to counter the influx of displaced people and families at the border? Do asylum seekers need to be detained? Should America increase security at the border?” students need click here To submit an opinion of not less than 250 words before 7th June. The best response will be published that night.
Allow the legal production, sale, and use of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin, and watch as new, regulated entrants into the market undermine the sky-high profits of drug cartels, easing their monopoly hold on drug sales. Let loose and provide drug- trafficking operations obsolete.
The war on drugs is a war on the basic logic of economics. Where strong untapped demand exists, some profit-seeking entrepreneurs will rise to seize the opportunity. These economic principles do not care whether the goods or services are ethical, nor whether the entrepreneurs are of likeable character operating within the limits of the law. Didn’t prohibition teach us anything? Governments can chase supplies, confiscate vast amounts of illegal goods, spend billions routing networks of smugglers, and even occasionally topple a large crime family. But demand persists, so supply is always back in the market once again.
The war on drugs will always be lost as long as a group of entrepreneurs deem it fit to supply consumers, and always will be. America doesn’t have the guts to enforce drug laws, and regulators are not our moral overlords. Leave the matter of drug use to individuals, their families, and their churches. It is time to free all drug use from crime.
—Greg Plathe, King’s College London, Global Finance and Banking;
Declare the Second War on Drugs
America did not lose the war on drugs. We have retreated and left our cities, towns, families and communities helpless.
In our modern political climate it is fashionable to say, “Banning drugs doesn’t work,” or “The War on Drugs failed.” Conversely, the war not only drastically reduced the number of people who used drugs, it firmly established in the minds of the American people that drug use was wrong.
Since the massive US defense of drug enforcement efforts and the implementation of other soft-on-crime measures, drug use has fueled violence in cities such as Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, the integrity of rural cities. destroyed, and destabilized livelihoods. Family and community everywhere.
Should the US accept the position that underpins all policy decisions for individual choice and individual autonomy, and thus drug use? Or should the political community have the power to regulate and punish drug use for the betterment and prosperity of the community?
The answer is simple: Ban the drugs. The time has come for us to declare another war on drugs.
—William Benson, The Catholic University of America, Politics
provide aid instead of the law
What is the purpose of drug prohibition? Is it specifically to prevent their use, or is it to prevent the negative effects associated with drug use? U.S. drug policy points to the east, as there are more doses — legal or illegal — of any drug from 1999 to 2022. In contrast, Europe’s policies are quite different. In general, Europe understands that addiction is a disease, not a crime. Study after study has shown that the validity of drugs has a minor effect on their use.
Drug criminalization has disproportionately imprisoned people of color, increased the market value of substances and created opportunities for other crimes. All this while doing nothing to stop the real problem: stopping the use of drugs. Making drugs illegal just makes things worse.
The war on drugs must be treated as a failure, and America must take an approach of de-criminalisation and recovery. We must view drug abuse victims as victims who need support rather than as perpetrators. The logistics of providing legalization and support are difficult, but it is certainly possible.
—Sebastian Barney, University of Utah, Engineering
Fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction
America hasn’t lost the war on drugs, but it has lost a campaign to warn today’s youth of opioid toxicity. The synthetic opioid fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and it is killing young people in alarming numbers. Young adults rarely take heroin, meth, or cocaine. Those drugs are not the kind of drug campaigns of the 1980s “just say no” could address. Young adults commonly take popular prescription pills such as Adderall, Xanax and Oxycontin, counterfeits of which may contain an unknown amount of fentanyl, which is lethal at two milligrams. Synthetic opioids are also being introduced into marijuana, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, with young adults often unaware of what they are consuming.
In my home state of California, drug education is not compulsory in schools. The education code requires instruction on alcohol and drugs, but the wording is vague and does not cover specific drug topics. America needs a statewide awareness campaign, starting with middle schools, to shift the focus from focusing on “gateway drugs” to “one pill can.”
Fentanyl overdose is now the leading cause of death in America aged 18 to 45. According to the Department of Homeland Security, a weapon of mass destruction can be defined as “chemical” and “intended to cause harm to a large number of people”. To combat the ongoing opioid epidemic, the US should classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.
How many more deaths are needed before action?
-Ashley Carnahan, University of Southern California, Journalism
click here To submit feedback on next week’s Future View.
Wonder Land: Joe Biden prefers to talk about racism and guns rather than face the real problem. Images: AFP / Getty Images / Reuters / Shutterstock Composite: Mark Kelly
opinion | What can be done about the opioid crisis?
Editor’s note: in future viewIn this article, the students discussed efforts to curb illegal drug use. Next week we will ask, “There has been an increase in border crossings at the US-Mexico border this year. What should be done to counter the influx of displaced people and families at the border? Do asylum seekers need to be detained? Should America increase security at the border?” students need click here To submit an opinion of not less than 250 words before 7th June. The best response will be published that night.
Allow the legal production, sale, and use of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin, and watch as new, regulated entrants into the market undermine the sky-high profits of drug cartels, easing their monopoly hold on drug sales. Let loose and provide drug- trafficking operations obsolete.
The war on drugs is a war on the basic logic of economics. Where strong untapped demand exists, some profit-seeking entrepreneurs will rise to seize the opportunity. These economic principles do not care whether the goods or services are ethical, nor whether the entrepreneurs are of likeable character operating within the limits of the law. Didn’t prohibition teach us anything? Governments can chase supplies, confiscate vast amounts of illegal goods, spend billions routing networks of smugglers, and even occasionally topple a large crime family. But demand persists, so supply is always back in the market once again.
The war on drugs will always be lost as long as a group of entrepreneurs deem it fit to supply consumers, and always will be. America doesn’t have the guts to enforce drug laws, and regulators are not our moral overlords. Leave the matter of drug use to individuals, their families, and their churches. It is time to free all drug use from crime.
—Greg Plathe, King’s College London, Global Finance and Banking;
Declare the Second War on Drugs
America did not lose the war on drugs. We have retreated and left our cities, towns, families and communities helpless.
In our modern political climate it is fashionable to say, “Banning drugs doesn’t work,” or “The War on Drugs failed.” Conversely, the war not only drastically reduced the number of people who used drugs, it firmly established in the minds of the American people that drug use was wrong.
Since the massive US defense of drug enforcement efforts and the implementation of other soft-on-crime measures, drug use has fueled violence in cities such as Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, the integrity of rural cities. destroyed, and destabilized livelihoods. Family and community everywhere.
Should the US accept the position that underpins all policy decisions for individual choice and individual autonomy, and thus drug use? Or should the political community have the power to regulate and punish drug use for the betterment and prosperity of the community?
The answer is simple: Ban the drugs. The time has come for us to declare another war on drugs.
—William Benson, The Catholic University of America, Politics
provide aid instead of the law
What is the purpose of drug prohibition? Is it specifically to prevent their use, or is it to prevent the negative effects associated with drug use? U.S. drug policy points to the east, as there are more doses — legal or illegal — of any drug from 1999 to 2022. In contrast, Europe’s policies are quite different. In general, Europe understands that addiction is a disease, not a crime. Study after study has shown that the validity of drugs has a minor effect on their use.
Drug criminalization has disproportionately imprisoned people of color, increased the market value of substances and created opportunities for other crimes. All this while doing nothing to stop the real problem: stopping the use of drugs. Making drugs illegal just makes things worse.
The war on drugs must be treated as a failure, and America must take an approach of de-criminalisation and recovery. We must view drug abuse victims as victims who need support rather than as perpetrators. The logistics of providing legalization and support are difficult, but it is certainly possible.
—Sebastian Barney, University of Utah, Engineering
Fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction
America hasn’t lost the war on drugs, but it has lost a campaign to warn today’s youth of opioid toxicity. The synthetic opioid fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and it is killing young people in alarming numbers. Young adults rarely take heroin, meth, or cocaine. Those drugs are not the kind of drug campaigns of the 1980s “just say no” could address. Young adults commonly take popular prescription pills such as Adderall, Xanax and Oxycontin, counterfeits of which may contain an unknown amount of fentanyl, which is lethal at two milligrams. Synthetic opioids are also being introduced into marijuana, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, with young adults often unaware of what they are consuming.
In my home state of California, drug education is not compulsory in schools. The education code requires instruction on alcohol and drugs, but the wording is vague and does not cover specific drug topics. America needs a statewide awareness campaign, starting with middle schools, to shift the focus from focusing on “gateway drugs” to “one pill can.”
Fentanyl overdose is now the leading cause of death in America aged 18 to 45. According to the Department of Homeland Security, a weapon of mass destruction can be defined as “chemical” and “intended to cause harm to a large number of people”. To combat the ongoing opioid epidemic, the US should classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.
How many more deaths are needed before action?
-Ashley Carnahan, University of Southern California, Journalism
click here To submit feedback on next week’s Future View.
Wonder Land: Joe Biden prefers to talk about racism and guns rather than face the real problem. Images: AFP / Getty Images / Reuters / Shutterstock Composite: Mark Kelly
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