The illegal usage of drugs is very prevalent in our country today. The problem has gotten so severe, that many options are being considered to control it or even solve it. The war on drugs does not seem to be accomplishing enough, and different options need to be considered. Decriminalization is an option that hasn't gotten a chance but should be given one. Decriminalization, as the word itself indicates, involves freeing the drug user/possessor from criminal status, and limits the punishment for drug possession, under a certain amount. Although many people feel that decriminalizing drugs would increase the amount of use, drugs should be decriminalized because it will reduce the great amounts of money spent on enforcement, decrease crime rates and it will increase our country's revenue.
We simply just spent too much money each year implementing drug laws. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - in 1996, the latest year for available information, the government spent over $100 billion dollars on a drug war that has been largely unsuccessful. They also issued a survey in the same year, which revealed that 74 million or 34.8% of the American population aged 12 and older uses illegal drugs. And according to the state department, several more billion dollars have already been allocated for the war on drugs in 1999.
The IRS wastes the taxpayer's time and money chasing suspected drug dealers rather than attending to the affairs of the ordinary taxpayer. As a component of president Nixon's war on drugs - the IRS spent 12 million dollars targeting 1,011 suspected dealers. Only 238 of these investigations were even completed, 43 of which were actually followed by indictments. Of these 43 cases only 13 resulted in conviction - roughly 1.5% of the initial target (Brenner, "The Legalization of Drugs: Why Prolong the Inevitable?" 18). .
Due to the war on drugs, State and Federal prisons can no longer afford to house violent criminals for appropriate amounts of time.