Drug Law Reform

Daniel Lee

Mrs. Pugh

Current Drug Policies

• Ridiculous • Drug levels need rescheduling• Offence changes based upon amount of illegal substances

in possession

Prisons

• Overpopulated• Costly to operate

Money

• Government is missing out on a large profit margin• The USA is wasting money on supporting failing policies

Law Enforcement

• Current laws are enforced differently depending on state although laws are on the federal level

• Use lethal force when it’s uncalled for

International Trade

• Drug import cannot be stopped no matter which precautions are taken

• Most illegal substances travel across international waters from European and South American countries

Deaths

• Legal drugs cause more deaths than all illegal drugs combined every year

• Some illegal drugs are impossible to overdose on

Prohibition

• Extremely ineffective• Causes higher drug cost• Artificially inflates drug value

Other Countries Drug Laws

• Scheduling varies country to country• Prosecution for possession in other countries is often less

harsh than in America

Offenders

• Most are non-violent, first time offenders• Often jailed for possession alone• Arrest of drug law offenders rises each year

Drug Importing

• Although USA only has 4% of the world population, it imports the most illegal substances

• More offenders are being caught yearly, yet the amount of illegal substances imported continue to rise

Political Funding

• D.A.R.E. program is sponsored by alcohol and tobacco companies

• Industries such as Philip Morris USA pay for advertising against illegal drugs