Drug abuse is an international problem that affects millions of people. In the US and most western countries the solution has been to attack the problem of drug abuse on the supply side by making drug sale and use illegal. In 1971 the Nixon administration declared war on drugs that has been raging for almost 50 years. Yet drugs continue to be a national problem. Given the total failure of the war on drugs, it is time to change our approach and fight drugs on the demand not supply side.
Fighting Drugs on the Supply Side
The idea of the supply side solution is that drug abuse will disappear if we can cut off the supply. To that end there has been rigorous law enforcement efforts that has failed to stop drug abuse. In the U.S. the failed War on Drugs has been costly to both individuals and society. Unintended consequences include:
- Wasted Tax Money. Since its inception the War on Drugs has cost the U.S. taxpayer more than 1 $trillion, with a current annual cost of 41.3 $billion.
- Mass Incarceration. In the US there are nearly 450,000 people in local, state, and federal prison for drug offenses.
- Creation of Violent Drug Cartels. Illicit drugs have become big business that corrupts government officials, law enforcement, and others.
- Stigmatizing Drug Abusers. Drug abusers need medical and mental health treatment, not arresting and shaming. Countless drug users have prison records that derails careers and financial success. Further, stigmatized drug abusers are reluctant to seek treatment in many cases out of fear of being arrested.
Fight Drugs on the Demand Not Supply Side
The alternative to counterproductive and ineffective attempts to eliminate drug supplies is to reduce demand by reducing the number of people who use and abuse drugs. The U.S. and other countries should suspend their wars on drugs and shift those funds into education and treatment that would have a far better outcome. When Portugal did just that drug use and overdose deaths declined. Their rate of deaths due to overdose is 1/50 of the U.S. Switching from the supply to demand side works. This means:adopting a harm reduction approach to focus on saving lives rather than incarceration.
- Decriminalize the use of drugs. No one is arrested for using illicit drugs.
- Phase out the war on drugs. Law enforcement should focus on the violent crime that is associated with the drug trade rather than focusing on the futile attempt to shut off the drug supply
- Invest more in education both inside and outside of schools. Everyone should understand what the different drugs are, both illicit and prescription, and the risks to using them.
- Invest in drug treatment. People who move from recreational drug use to drug abuse need treatment not incarceration. This problem should be treated as a medical condition with widespread inpatient and outpatient treatment available.
- Invest in mental health services. Often drug abuse goes hand in hand with mental health conditions such as anxiety disorder and depression. Many people will use drugs to control their symptoms, often with tragic results. Mental health services need to be more readily available so that no one feels they need to treat themselves.
The U.S. War on Drugs (and wars on drugs elsewhere) has been a catastrophic failure that has had the opposite effect from what was intended. It is time to say enough is enough and fight drugs on the demand not supply side so we can reduce drug abuse and save lives.
Photo by Matthias Zomer from Pexels