The war on drugs in the United States started in 1969 under the presidency of Richard Nixon. Nixon was looking for a way to decrease crime in the Washington D.C. area because he felt that drugs caused violent behavior. Over the years the war on drugs has developed into an ongoing problem for citizens’ health, the economy, and the flow of society itself, but what if the war on drugs just stopped completely. The war on drugs is a serious issue around the world, but many people do not realize how big the problem is in our own country, “The global war on drugs is the cause of some of the biggest public health and social justice disasters of our time, from violent, billion-dollar cartels to mass incarceration targeting communities of color and locking people up for profit” (Alternet). Many countries throughout the world experience similar problems, but others have created approaches toward decreasing the negative effects of drug use, as well as the negative effects from the war on drugs. America is one of the world’s largest users of drugs and spends the most money fighting drugs, which directly affects our society; “27.1 million people aged 12 or older used an illicit drug in the past 30 days, which corresponds to about 1 in 10 Americans. The illicit drug use estimate continues to be driven primarily by marijuana use and the misuse of prescription pain relievers, with 22.2 million current marijuana users aged 12 or older and 3.8 million people aged 12 or older who reported current misuse of prescription pain relievers” (Drugwarfacts). The problems do not end with people simply using drugs, the effects of drug use and drug wars include things such as overdoses and deaths, disease and infection, and a struggling economy and society. Americans have no idea how dangerous drugs can be and also how hurtful the war on drugs itself can be; “From 2009 to now, there have been more overdose deaths than shootings and car accidents” (CNN). Citizens are blinded by organizations such as the DEA, or the Drug Enforcement Agency, and their claim that this huge war on drugs is actually making a difference in the United States. 

One of the biggest problems with drug use in our society is the war on drugs itself. The war on drugs is spending so much money, with little to no progress being made. Spending is not only coming from the paying of drug enforcement agencies, but also from the over populated prisons in our country; “One in every 99.1 adults is behind bars in the U.S. This is the highest incarceration rate in the world. Over the past four decades, federal and state governments have poured over $1 trillion into drug war spending and relied on taxpayers to foot the bill” (Drug Policy).  These stats just show how the tax dollars are going to waste, but maybe there is a better idea for slowing down drug overdoses and crimes in the United States. One country in particular faced similar problems, but did something that no other country would imagine doing: they decriminalized all drugs. In 2001 Portugal released a policy that no country deemed possible to work, they decriminalized drugs and made the crime of drug use a health problem, rather than a law breaking issue. Could this work in America, and would citizens back up this policy? This policy has the ability to reduce drug related deaths and infection, decrease the drug related imprisonment rates, and use our tax collection for better use.   

Although Portugal had great success with this decriminalization policy, many people in America believe that the policy is too “loose” and will never work in America because of our bigger society and different political views.  An ongoing reaction to this policy being used in the United States is that all of our drug user rates will skyrocket and ultimately hurt us more than help us; “both decriminalization and legalization of illicit drugs would increase their use, along with their associated health and social costs” (AmericasQuarterly). This was the initial thought of the citizens of Portugal when the idea of the new decriminalization policy came out. Many people feared that since everything was decriminalized, then the drug society in the country would expand. One interesting idea that David Mineta of the Americas Quarterlty wrote was that “Our long experience with two legal substances, alcohol and tobacco, demonstrates that legalization increases society’s acceptance, availability, use, and associated costs.” He relates drug use to tobacco and alcohol, the most common “drugs” available in not only the United States, but also the world. People fear that if all drugs become more available to the public then, just like alcohol and tobacco, people will be more inclined to abuse those substances because they know there is not as big of a risk and they are much more available. 

Through many surveys and interviews, many people believe that the overall threat of getting caught and being sent to jail for drug use will help users reduce their drug abuse and steer them away from their addiction.  Also, when relating the great success of Portugal and their drug policy, there are those who do not give the drug decriminalization the credit for the decrease in crime, deaths, disease, and the boost in the economy in the country; “Such improvements are not solely the result of the decriminalization policy; Portugal’s shift towards a more health-centered approach to drugs, as well as wider health and social policy changes, are equally, if not more, responsible for the positive changes observed” (Transform). This in a way can relate to what President Obama tried to enforce during his time in office. He released a two-part policy that was aimed at keeping the war on drugs alive and making it have an actual impact. Obama released the policies claiming “First, health insurers must now cover drug treatment as a requirement of Obamacare. Second, draconian drug sentences have been scaled back, helping to reduce the number of federal drug prisoners by more than 15 percent” (Rolling Stone). Many Americans backed up this policy, but it proved to still not make that big of a difference. 

When it comes down to it, people believe that the biggest argument for not getting rid of the war on drugs is that it is simply working. Citizens feel safe with government organizations ‘controlling’ the drug dealers and society within our country, organizations such as the Drug Enforcement Agency, or the DEA, are the largest contributors to the war on drugs. The DEA has made many impacts on our society, but for the amount the spend it does not seem like enough; “Last year they arrested 30,476 people, seized 80,000 pounds of cocaine and 780,000 pounds of marijuana. There were 11,210 meth lab incidents last year. The worst offending meth state? Missouri. Since its inception, the DEA has cost the taxpayers $536,367,800,000” (CNN). The DEA provides safe environments around the country and eliminates drug gangs and smuggling from different countries.

Unlike legalization, decriminalization means that an activity is still illegal, but enforcement and penalties are not as severe. Unlike when a drug or substance is illegal in the United States, if caught while in possession under the decriminalization policy in Portugal, the “felon” or user will be dealt with by the health services or a minor fine rather than being sent to jail. “Decriminalization” literally means that there will be no criminal charges if caught in possession of a drug. The idea is smart, rather than punish people for using drugs and have them not change their ways, they try to help them overcome their addiction of abuse of drugs through health services. At the same time, many people’s fear is not just the use of drugs but the environment that drug users create such as dangerous gangs and dealers. Maybe there should be a middle ground, enforcing the health services for those who are strictly users and for those who are not directly involved in the crime of selling drugs. This not only reduces the very high imprisonment rates, but also keeps government organizations around such as the DEA to go after dangerous gangs and threats around the drug dealing world. A common ground must be met with the amount of money the government spends on the drug wars. Over $1 trillion in the past four decades is too much, if we can find a balance between decriminalization and illegalizing drugs then we can reduce imprisonment rates, reduce overdoses and disease, and cut back on unnecessary funding that we can use elsewhere. 

Portugal revolutionized how countries view legalization of drugs around the world. Their bold creation of the decriminalization policy in 2001 has improved every aspect of their country over the past 16 years. Portugal has set a new standard for drug issues around the world; “The reality is that Portugal’s drug situation has improved significantly in several key areas. Most notably, HIV infections and drug-related deaths have decreased, while the dramatic rise in use feared by some has failed to materialize” (Zeeshan Aleem). Portugal no longer punishes drug users with crime charges, rather with penalties decided by ‘Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction’, which are regional panels made up of legal, health and social work professionals. 

The United States struggles with drug abuse and needs a new way to approach the rising problem. We are in the prime times of drug abuse, the past decade has been our country’s worst in history; “According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), illicit drug abuse in the United States has risen to its highest level in eight years” (Caron). Drug abuse is at an all-time high in the United States, but so is the size of the war on drugs and the organizations and people who work within it. Portugal set the bar for the war on drugs proving that violence and overly harsh sentences for drug use are not necessarily the right way to fix the drug problems within a country. 

The United States has been fighting this drug war for over forty years, with not much impact or difference over the years besides the amount of money we spend rising through the roof; “Not only have billions of tax dollars been wasted, but drug war spending has also resulted in the defunding of other important services. Money funneled into drug enforcement has meant less funding for more serious crime and has left essential education, health, social service and public safety programs struggling to operate on meager funding” (Drug Policy). Our war on drugs within our country is hurting our society more than people realize. Over a trillion dollars have been spent since the war on drugs began in 1971 under President Nixon, which weakens other branches of our society because we do not focus on things that matter. The Drug Enforcement Agency, or the DEA, is not as successful as the appear. Since they were formed in 1973, they have been abusing money and throwing thousands of people in jail even though many have almost zero contribution to the drug abuse or dealing. It is clear that the overall feelings about the war on drugs within our society has greatly changed since the 1970’s; “Five Nobel Prize economists, as well as national leaders and professors, weighed in, reaching the overall conclusion that policies need to move away from heavy law enforcement to public health and humanitarian-based efforts” (Alternet). The government does not realize how much they are hurting our citizens and those who are within the drug abuse community. "One of the biggest reasons why people don't seek care is shame and stigma," Botticelli told reporters last year. "What we've been trying to do is change the language" (TED Talk).

The United States wastes billions of dollars on the drug war, does not provide the correct amount of help for the drug abuse community, and also is a large reason why we have over half a million people in jail in our country. According to the Bureau of Prisons, “there are 207,847 people incarcerated in federal prisons. Roughly half (48.6 percent) are in for drug offenses. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are 1,358,875 people in state prisons. Of them, 16 percent have a drug crime as their most serious offense.” This shows that drug use is a serious problem in the United States, but what people do not know is that many of those charges are on people who are barely involved in the deals or usage of drugs. The prisons in the U.S. are way over packed. By using the decriminalization policy, the prisons will be used for those who strictly commit the crime of selling drugs or having mass amounts of drugs. The structure of imprisonment and crimes will be almost completely changed on certain levels dealing with drug use; “At the state level, people have to deal with the fact that HIV and hepatitis are spreading; it’s going to add to hospital costs. They have to deal with the fact that building new prisons and new jails is a major cost” (Harvard Law). 

It is pretty simply in a way, the decriminalization of drugs in the United States could revolutionize our country and greatly help us in all categories in our society. The drug war and drug laws in the United States are way outdated, we are just now starting to legalize the use of marijuana which has taken too long to accomplish. Even those rate of crime and deaths have already decreased within the marijuana community, and not even every state has legalized it yet. Portugal’s drug policy is an amazing idea that can be tweaked and changed up differently for the lifestyle and size of the United States. 

Our country needs some changes and honestly it needs some help too. When people think about the decriminalization of drugs in the United States, many are scared and will never support the idea because they believe the usages will rise and cause havoc, but that is exactly what many people felt in Portugal in 2001 also. It took months for people to warm up to the idea and be shown the stats around how much the economy was growing, how the death and usage rates were decreasing, and how the problem with over population within jails has begun to solve its own problem. Our citizens and country needs to realize that the decriminalization of drugs is a great option for actually helping those who are hurt throw drug use. The United States could offer so many health options and programs to help those stuck in the dangerous world of drug misuse and overdoses. We could mold the policy around how we believe our country works and find a middle ground for some polices that we already have. The whole war on drugs will never disappear completely, but we need to reduce it and try to offer more help rather than fear. “The report calls for a shift in global drug enforcement strategy. It suggests that new drug policies should be based on harm reduction. It also calls for "expanded access to essential medicines," and "an unwavering commitment to principles of human rights” (CNN). Soon people will see that the war on drugs is way too outdated and that we can greatly help our country and even world through a new decriminalization policy. 
