Activity 8!

         The war on drugs is something that was declared by President Richard Nixon in order to support drug prohibition. During his presidency, he increased the size of federal drug control agencies and even temporarily placed marijuana as a schedule one drug, which classifies it as dangerous to health. He also pushed toward things such as mandatory sentences in order to prevent people from abusing drugs through crime. I would say that we have, in fact, lost the war on drugs. Although Nixon pushed toward the downfall of the use of illegal drugs such as marijuana, overtime, it has become legal in a handful of states, including Colorado and California. As far as costs of losing the war, there are quite a few. As a legalized drug, marijuana for example, might be easily accessible for young or underage people to receive and abuse. It can also impair one’s judgment for a certain period of time, which may even lead to more accidents or driving issues. One could also grow an addiction to the drug and experience withdrawal and it may even lead to overdose. Most importantly, if only legalized medicinally, people may abuse prescriptions and sell their drugs to other people. Overall, I think we have definitely lost the war on drugs because of how open people have become in being more accepting toward illegal drugs such as marijuana. However, I think majority of the people only support the legalization in terms of using it medicinally. Legalization of specific drugs definitely has its costs, but we have to think about whether those costs outweigh the benefits or vice-versa.