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The "war on drugs" is over and the trumpets of history are sounding a sonorous and woeful song of defeat. When historians look back and examine the alleged war on drugs, its fallacious beginnings, the logistics and tactics used to wage it, the ultimate outcome, and the collective price that was paid for it, it will go down in infamy as one of the most destructive and costly "wars" this country has ever engaged in.

To appreciate how the war on drugs was doomed right from the very beginning, you have to examine its origins. The term "war on drugs" was initially used by then President Richard Nixon back in 1971. His administration decided that the use of drugs by both the returning combatants from Vietnam as well by the general population here in the states was to blame for our rapid moral decay, was inciting greater numbers of people to question and rebuke our traditional cultural mores, to revolt against governmental policy, and to reject the political status quo of the time. In reality, it was a cleverly devised scheme to consolidate political support and to divert attention from the abysmal failure of our military efforts in Vietnam, and the political, social, and cultural tumult of the times.

With each succeeding presidential administration, the war on drugs continued to be a popular issue for exploitation. The media exposure alone helped it to become a self-sustaining and growing phenomenon. When all else failed, politicians and candidates for political office could use it as a "stand-by" issue to feed and support their platform. By manipulating rhetoric, it became the issue that all parties aligned themselves in favor of for fear of appearing either unpatriotic or overtly radical should they question or oppose it.

The reality is that not only was there never a war on drugs, participation in the sales and transportation of controlled substances has been used by our own government to finance covert political goals and objectives. The Iran-Contra affair, in which many of our administration officials eventually served time in prison for is one of many examples.

The real war has been on individuals and their constitutionally guaranteed rights. It has resulted in the arrest, prosecution, and incarceration of millions of people since its inception, the vast majority for simple possession and/or personal use. It has had the effect of establishing a defacto form of racial and economic prejudice. At no time since the war on drugs was instituted has the incidence of drug use declined. Just as alcohol had to have a constitutional amendment to prohibit its possession or use, drugs like marijuana should have the same requirement. Supreme Court justices, legal scholars, and educators, and even law enforcement officials have decried the unconstitutionality of federal drug laws and their mandated minimum sentencing requirements upon conviction of drug possession. Whether or not you agree with drug use on a moral or ethical basis, arrest statistics clearly show that the alleged "war on drugs" has been ineffective, never was effective, and never will be. Given the amount of infrastructure that has been built to enforce drug laws, the inefficacy of the policy and resultant practices, and the fiscal, social, and cultural destruction that it has caused, we as a society need to approach substance use/abuse from a perspective of treatment and rehabilitation rather than punishment.

Learn more about this author, Victor Mikulin.
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