Decrease the deficit, decriminalize drugs

The United States has a habit of starting unnecessary wars. No, I am not talking about Iraq, you can keep reading. What I am talking about is the war on drugs, possibly the biggest, most prolonged, and most unnoticed waste of money in our federal budget. There are many government agencies devoted to the drug war. The most obvious of these is the Drug Enforcement Administration, but there are also lesser known agencies like the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

Now let’s look at the numbers. The U.S. federal government spent $19 billion in 2003 on the war on drugs. This budget has since been increased by over $1 billion. In addition, state and local governments also spend millions on the drug war. On top of that, the U.S. maintains a military presence in countries like Colombia in an attempt to prevent the manufacturing of drugs, and the border is policed heavily in part due to the trafficking of drugs from Mexico to the U.S. Once you factor in the cost of people who are in jail for nonviolent drug offenses, we all agree that a ton of money is being spent on this “war.”

As everyone knows, there is major upheaval in the global economy, especially on the U.S. end. Our government is spending at its highest rate in years. The U.S. has more debt than many countries combined. Money was spent on multiple bailouts, and with every dollar that is printed, every existing dollar loses a little value. Now of all times, the government needs to look for waste in the budget and remove it. By ending the drug war and cutting funding for drug-related agencies, the government would save an enormous amount of money. Doing that is simple. Just decriminalize drugs.

The use of some drugs, especially marijuana, can be very prevalent on college campuses. Currently, students can face serious disciplinary consequences for actions unrelated to academics. Colleges, and the country in general, should focus on matters within their scope and not police the social and personal use of substances. Each individual should have the freedom to choose what he puts into his body.

Seriously, if the U.S. decriminalized drugs, what do you think would happen? Would everyone become a cokehead? Or would gang violence decrease? Would drug usage skyrocket? Or would the number of drug-related deaths fall? Luckily, there is one place to find out­—Portugal.

Five years ago, Portugal decided to decriminalize the usage of drugs. The penalties for dealing drugs remained the same, but if one was caught in possession of a small amount of drugs, one was not sent to jail. Instead, one was sent to counseling, a method of treatment and prevention, not imprisonment and punishment. To everyone’s surprise, the number of deaths from drug overdoses dropped, and the number of HIV cases as a result of using dirty needles also fell. In addition, it became evident that the belief that Portugal would become a center for drug use was unfounded.

Well, it worked in Portugal. Can it work here in America? Of course it can! From the money that the U.S. saves on the drug war, it can finance support groups and counseling sessions. Also, the money can go to educating children on the dangers of drugs. The government could also legalize “soft drugs” like marijuana and tax them. The income from taxing these drugs combined with the massive amount of money saved from ending the drug war could finance public works projects and universal health care, aid those in danger of foreclosure, audit companies that received bailout money, or help developing countries.

So far, there are economic and social reasons to stop the war on drugs. The U.S. will definitely save money, and counseling will likely decrease drug use. A third reason, at least for some, to end the drug war is the proper role of the government in its citizens’ personal lives. A government is created to protect its citizens and maintain a level of order. The role of government is not to police or preclude a person from making a choice about his or her own body. The government is not responsible for preventing people from using drugs. This doesn’t mean the government will allow driving under the influence or anything that endangers others. It means that if people decide to use substances in the privacy of their own home, they should not be subject to legal repercussions.
We have the logical reasons for change, but do we have the will?

The author is a Columbia College first-year.