Part One – Blog
The War on Drugs - Does criminalisation create more harm than it
prevents?
In todays society the concept of ‘power’ is part of the contribution to
identifying how
and why some behaviours are criminalised. This leads onto the power of
the state
where the War on Drugs campaign was created. ‘The United States
spearheaded
the War on Drugs approach, using the United Nations (UN) as a platform
to
persuade other countries to adopt Prohibitionist drug policies’ (Collins,
2017).
The War on Drugs was first mentioned by US President Richard Nixon in
1971. This
fell in line with the expansion of US imperialism during the time of the
Cold War.
The increase of protesting did not go unnoticed with the president Ronald
Reagan,
where he started an Anti-Drug Abuse Act in 1986, in addition to this his
First Lady
Nancy Reagan’s campaign to ‘Just Say No to Drugs’ (Elwood, 2009;
Hawdon, 2001).
This led to US social movements rebelling against the US imperialism,
encouraging
protest groups to do the same, resulting in drug use.
In 1986, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act was passed with thereby sentenced
citizens to
minimum prison sentences for certain drug offences.
The War on Drugs is a global campaign that creates a protest and
indicates how
, criminalising drugs provokes harms towards individuals. It is led by the US
federal
government.
What substances do we class as a drug?
When asking people what they would consider to be a drug, many people
would
respond with a substance such as cocaine and heroin, you hardly ever
hear anyone
mention substances such as alcohol, tobacco or sugar which are all
classed as
‘psychoactive substances’ that affect aspects of the brain.
Cocaine is an interesting drug to look at. For example, in the late 1800’s
cocaine
was not an illegal substance in the United States and was sold to
potentially cure
any minor illnesses. It was not until the 1980’s a non-profit organisation
created an
advertising campaign to frighten people about the overall use of cocaine
and its
effects. Not only did this have effects on people’s views on the substance
but it
‘impacted cocaine-producing countries in South America’ (Bourgois,
2015).
Coca is used for having healing properties. However, due to the Global
North
changing its views towards cocaine it has ‘impacted on the regulation and
use of
coca in the Global South (Gootenberg, 2008). Despite its prohibition, the
appetite for
cocaine has spread globally (UNODC, 2018).
The War on Drugs - Does criminalisation create more harm than it
prevents?
In todays society the concept of ‘power’ is part of the contribution to
identifying how
and why some behaviours are criminalised. This leads onto the power of
the state
where the War on Drugs campaign was created. ‘The United States
spearheaded
the War on Drugs approach, using the United Nations (UN) as a platform
to
persuade other countries to adopt Prohibitionist drug policies’ (Collins,
2017).
The War on Drugs was first mentioned by US President Richard Nixon in
1971. This
fell in line with the expansion of US imperialism during the time of the
Cold War.
The increase of protesting did not go unnoticed with the president Ronald
Reagan,
where he started an Anti-Drug Abuse Act in 1986, in addition to this his
First Lady
Nancy Reagan’s campaign to ‘Just Say No to Drugs’ (Elwood, 2009;
Hawdon, 2001).
This led to US social movements rebelling against the US imperialism,
encouraging
protest groups to do the same, resulting in drug use.
In 1986, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act was passed with thereby sentenced
citizens to
minimum prison sentences for certain drug offences.
The War on Drugs is a global campaign that creates a protest and
indicates how
, criminalising drugs provokes harms towards individuals. It is led by the US
federal
government.
What substances do we class as a drug?
When asking people what they would consider to be a drug, many people
would
respond with a substance such as cocaine and heroin, you hardly ever
hear anyone
mention substances such as alcohol, tobacco or sugar which are all
classed as
‘psychoactive substances’ that affect aspects of the brain.
Cocaine is an interesting drug to look at. For example, in the late 1800’s
cocaine
was not an illegal substance in the United States and was sold to
potentially cure
any minor illnesses. It was not until the 1980’s a non-profit organisation
created an
advertising campaign to frighten people about the overall use of cocaine
and its
effects. Not only did this have effects on people’s views on the substance
but it
‘impacted cocaine-producing countries in South America’ (Bourgois,
2015).
Coca is used for having healing properties. However, due to the Global
North
changing its views towards cocaine it has ‘impacted on the regulation and
use of
coca in the Global South (Gootenberg, 2008). Despite its prohibition, the
appetite for
cocaine has spread globally (UNODC, 2018).
