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Joshua Riedy
English 2
Mrs. Harrell
May 19, 2015
The war on drugs
Will the war on drugs ever end? It has been going on for so long, no matter what, people
will keep doing and selling drugs. People risk their lives every day to sell drugs to make money.
Many people think the war will never end because people will not stop selling, the government
will not legalize it, and you cannot stop everyone from doing it.
People will do anything to make money. One way to do it is to distribute drugs. It has
created a way to make money. Since 1980 the war on drugs has been going on. Many people that
do or sell drugs are not really violent criminals; they just have an addiction, and sell the drug to
make money. In the article it says citizens should have the right to use drugs, so as long as they
dont threaten others (Issitt and Finley 3). The prisons have overflowed double the amount from
1993-2000. Over 58 percent of them were in for drug offences. In 2001 the BusinessWeek
reported that the United States has a larger proportion of its population in jail for drug offences
than European countries have imprisoned for all crimes (Clouthier 5).
What if every drug was legalized? In the Netherlands they decriminalized every drug.
The transmitted diseases and deaths ratios from the drugs went down dramatically. If the United
States would decriminalize drugs the jails would have more room, and people wouldnt be killing
or getting arrested for possession because they would not have to take risks. The government can
make the drug and sell it out a pharmacy or they would be able to get it through their doctor. If

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they did that it would run out illegal distribution and trafficking of people trying to sell the drug.
It would help stop the war on drugs if they were all decriminalized.
Putting people into prison will not help or make them stop doing drugs. It would stress
them out to do them more. Plus there is no one to help counsel them while they are there. They
should be out into rehabilitation centers. In the article it says The majority of the taxpaying
public is against the mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent drug offences. Instead,
U.S. taxpayers support rehabilitation instead of incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders for
particular use (Issitt and Finley 3). Why should someone be incarcerated for something there
addicted to. Either let them do it or put them into a rehab. They cannot help doing it so they need
someone to help them stop.
So why have the war on drugs when you could just decriminalize every drug and most of
the nonsense stop. The war on drugs will never end because people will not stop selling it, the
government will not legalize it, and you cannot stop everyone from doing it. Why keep trying if
it has taken this long? You spend tons of money that is not helping at all. Do people think the war
will ever stop or no? Probably not anytime soon but it might one day.