The War on Drugs

One out of every hundred adults in the United States is in jail, and a good proportion of those incarcerated are inside for drug related crimes. Yet, we know that the percentage of adults in the US who use illegal drugs is more than 1%, and so, we can conclude that the war on drugs is failing. Simple. Even so, roughly 25% of those imprisoned were convicted on drug related crimes, and the ratio is increasing. Not only are we fighting an unwinable war, but could this be exacerbating a wealth of problems, from stretched police reserves, to free-fire street corners, to flooded prisons, to the demonization of the most desperate citizens who are isolated amongst the underclass? I have never taken any street drug, and I never plan to; I'm even weary of putting the most basic sporting supplements inside my body, but I felt an instant pang of agreement when I came across this article in Time magazine last week, written by none other than the writers of The Wire, the unprecedented success story of American television. They recognise these disparities supplanted into contemporary society and they have a solution: "If asked to serve on a jury deliberating a violation of state or federal drug laws, we will vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence presented." Although this appears like a sweepingly naive statement delivered from the drooping lips of some sky-bound hippie, accept the weighty backdrop to such a decision. I urge you to read the article and ask yourself whether you see the war on drugs as a movement void of direction, ruining millions of American lives on the way. I have never watched an episode of The Wire, but I will now. Perhaps someone will be kind enough to buy me the super double deluxe box set supreme for my birthday sooner or later...