The war on drugs aims to reduce the illegal drug trade. The initiative consists of a set of drug laws aimed at discouraging the manufacturing, distributing, and use of psychoactive substances. Through international cooperation, the UN aims first to limit the production and distribution of narcotics drugs.
In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon formally declared war on drugs to end the use of illegal drugs in the US. He believed drug abuse to be the American public’s number one enemy.
The risk of job loss, financial hardship, sexual assault, accidents and injuries, legal repercussions, as well as harm to one’s physical and mental health, has increased as a result of using drugs and caused great harm to the American public.
His idea is to make the world drug-free by criminalizing drugs and enforcing harsh punishments on those who use them. He also expanded government financing for drug-treatment programs.
However, Historians who have studied Nixon’s drug policy, believe that the ultimate goal of the War on Drugs was to target anti-war hippies and black Americans. Data reveal that the War on Drugs harmed blacks and Hispanics far more than whites.
Since drugs were banned in the United States, everyone has taken this perspective and developed a negative attitude toward drugs. At the time, scientists didn’t study drugs because they were made illegal. Scientists are recently discovering that psychedelics such as LSD, MDMA, Ketamine, and Peyote are effective in treating depression, anxiety, cancer-related pain, and addiction.
Not all drugs are harmful some of them when taken in the proper dosage and with supervision, can be used for medical purposes. Excessive and unnecessary use of psychedelic drugs can result in negative effects such as addiction and physical dependence.
Richard Nixon created a narrative surrounding drugs that needs to be changed in the modern period since we can use psychedelic drugs to cure mental problems. There should be a controlling factor that requires individuals to use it responsibly, if we use these substances with the appropriate intentions, they will not be detrimental.
References –
Lopez, G. (2016, March 29). Was Nixon’s war on drugs a racially motivated crusade? it’s a bit more complicated. Vox.
The shocking story behind Richard Nixon’s ‘War on Drugs’ that targeted … (n.d.).
War on drugs. JournalsOfIndia. (2022, June 26).
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