War on drugs Flashcards
What is the War on drugs?
War on Drugs, the effort in the United States since the 1970s to combat illegal drug use by greatly increasing penalties, enforcement, and incarceration for drug offenders.
How expensive is the war on drugs?
$1 trillion since its inception in the 1970s. $15 billion annually
Has drug use expanded or declined since its materialization?
Since the global war on drugs began, drug use has expanded steadily, the exact opposite outcome the war is meant to effect.
There have been nearly no official cost benefit analyses of the war on drugs, leaving the door wide open for all kinds of unexpected harm caused and little accountability.
Why is the excessive expenditure on funding the WOD bad?
Taxpayer money squandered on drug enforcement is diverted from other social spending measures that actually benefit citizens.
Why is the excessive expenditure on funding the WOD bad?
Taxpayer money squandered on drug enforcement is diverted from other social spending measures that actually benefit citizens.
How much has incarceration increased due to the existence of the WOD?
38,000 individuals were imprisoned in the 1970s for drug related offenses, now that number is 500,000.
How much has incarceration increased due to the existence of the WOD?
38,000 individuals were imprisoned in the 1970s for drug related offenses, now that number is 500,000.
Why is this mass incarceration of drug related offenses bad?
Economic productivity and growth suffers tremendously as a reverberation of the negligence and deprivation of the utilization and ‘exploitation’ of the labor, which is now inaccessible.
Approximately how much productivity is lost due to this incarceration rate?
The Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates resulting productivity losses of around $40 billion a year.
How much revenue from taxation is negated because of the abstention of decriminalizing drugs and opening dispensaries which can tax the purchasing of the drug?
Harvard economist Jeffery Miron estimates the US government could garner “tens of billions of dollars annually” in taxes and decreased costs of enforcement of drugs.
What are the ramifications of the negation of government price regulations being imposed on the transactions and prices of drugs because of the WOD?
The incentivization and proliferation of the dispositional motivation to engage in criminal activity and nefarious actions to accumulate the revenue to fund their addictions.
What are the ramifications of the negation of government price regulations being imposed on the transactions and prices of drugs because of the WOD?
The incentivization and proliferation of the dispositional motivation to engage in criminal activity and nefarious actions to accumulate the revenue to fund their addictions. For example, cigarette smokers typically don’t have to commit felonies just to fund their lifestyles.
What are the health risks that are associated with depriving government regulations in the drug markets?
The augmentation of the drug containing contaminants and being laced; the expansionism of the burdens that are placed upon healthcare facilities to care for these patients.
