The War on Drugs: A New Strategy

Abstract

The term "War on Drugs" was first used by President Richard M. Nixon in 1969, and since then billions of dollars have been spent and countless lives affected in attempts to end this debatably unsuccessful war on drugs. As such, the United States (U.S.) needs to rethink its current war on drugs by employing a new strategy that reduces the key negative effects of drugs, specifically costs to the taxpayer, death and disease, and crime. This paper discusses: (1) the current U.S. drug control policy, (2) three strategy options with brief arguments for and against each option, and (3) a comparison of each option in relation to reducing the key negative effects of drugs as cited above. Based on the comparisons of each option, a recommendation of a new strategy for the U.S. to employ against drug use and abuse is provided.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA518414

Entities

People

  • Danny F. Tilzey

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Criminals
  • Drug Abuse
  • Drug Addiction
  • Drug Trafficking
  • Health
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Human Behavior
  • Law Enforcement
  • Medical Personnel
  • Public Health
  • Recreation
  • Societies
  • Students
  • Therapy
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.