On June 17, 1971 Richard Nixon first used the term War on Drugs (one year to the day before the Watergate break in). Since then the number of drug arrests have skyrocketed while prison populations have seen huge increases. The Drug War is controversial because it is so expensive while also being ineffective.
After 40 years of increased punishments and mandatory minimum sentencing the War on Drugs had received an opportunity to see if the assumptions and conclusions that it operated upon were correct. Apparently they are not.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy Report declared the War on Drugs to be a failure (which I discussed here). They recommend legalization and focus on treatment.
An organization called LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) has also issued a report (PDF) criticizing the Drug War. Leap states on their website that they are an organization with over a thousand members who are law enforcement, prosecutors and judges.
Jimmy Carter wrote an editorial for the New York Times on the topic of War on Drugs. President Carter is very critical of the Drug War and calls support for the recommendations made by the Global Commission on Drug Policy. He reminds readers that he advocated for legalization of less than an ounce of marijuana while President and argued that "penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself."
It is strange to be writing about Nixon and Carter, as if I were discussing history or politics. It demonstrates the length of this approach to drug use and addiction, that people back in the 70's were discussing the policies we are still discussing today. This is because those policies are wrong and they are a broken and dysfunctional tool to address substance use and abuse. The War on Drugs needs to end, and in its place developed a sane, humane and effective approach that addresses the actual needs of our communities.