The United States’ war on drugs is a $150 billion failure that has failed to reduce the supply of illicit drugs, resulting in negative public health consequences, according to a report published by the National Association of Public Health Policy (NAPHP) in their latest issue of the Journal of Public Health Policy.
The report states the $150 billion would be better spent on prevention, treatment, and research programs. NAPHP estimates 31 percent of Americans have used an illicit drug at least once, but only six percent can be considered drug abusers or addicts.
“It is clear that most persons who take illicit drugs are experimental or socio-recreational users,” according to the report. “The typical drug user is scarcely distinguishable from the typical citizen, and most were introduced to illicit drugs by a close friend, not a pusher.”
“This government advocates a policy (the war on drugs) which treats all illicit use as abuse. This is a major cause for the failure of the drug war and prohibitionist policies in general.”
For more information, please contact Scott Colvin, NORML Publications Director at (202) 483-5500.
