Decriminalizing Drug Usage Will Eliminate The Need For The DEA

I propose the elimination of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the decriminalization of drug usage. So much money has been spent by the federal government in the so-called war on drugs that it has become a drain on the economy, allowed the rise of drug lords in Central and South American nations, rending the fabric of Mexican society, and is an obvious failure of policy. According to the Justice Department website, the DEA in 2010 had a budget of 2.2 billion dollars, made 30, 922 arrests, employed 10,000 agents and bureaucrats in the United States and in its 83 offices in 63 countries, and denied 17.7 billion dollars to illegal drug operations. Its operations have generated some resentment of the people and officials of some of those nations. It is true that given its mandate, the DEA has done an admirable job, but it is a political child driven by an outmoded way of viewing drug abuse. Most drug abuse is based upon prescription drug usage by teens and others in search of an emotional outlet. As a civilized nation in the 21st century, we have an obligation to each other as citizens in this democratic republic we call the United States of America. We pay taxes for the common good, we maintain a standing army, navy, and air force for security, and we attempt to educate our children to the best of our and their abilities. It makes more sense to decriminalize drug usage and to provide safe haven treatment facilities to those that want help. Decriminalization will take away the mystique of doing something against society. It will also drain our prisons of persons held for their weakness for drug usage. We no longer hold vagrants or drunks in our jails, we should stop holding drug users unless they commit a crime. Drug abuse is just as much an illness as alcoholism is, and as such requires treatment. Those that continue to push illegal drugs should face the stiffest of penalties such as life imprisonment should they be justly convicted. By eliminating the DEA we can drop a bureaucracy, transfer those that want to remain in the federal government's employ to positions their abilities will better serve, and save the money spent on this so-called war. Taking away the mystique of illegal drug usage will make it easier to educate the young against the dangers of this illness, remove the profitability of illegal distribution, and in the end bring about a more just and caring society.