Trent VuillemotENG 201: Bauer Assignment 2, Draft 1Audience: Adults opposed to the decriminalization of drugsThe war on drugsWhy it should end with decriminalizationAll 19 seconds there is a drug arrest in the United States. (War on Drugs Statistics) On July 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. Drug addiction, the president said, was “public enemy number one.” Today, just over four decades later, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 51 percent of people incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses. The United States now spends $51,000,000,000 per year enforcing drug laws, and yet drug addiction rates have remained constant since the 1970s, with approximately 1.3% of the population being addicted to drugs (Groff ). The ban doesn't work. It didn't work in the 1930s with alcohol and it doesn't work with illegal drugs today. It is extremely expensive and fails to reduce drug use and dependence. This is ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. The solution is to decriminalize all drugs. Decriminalization is not legalization; there would still be penalties, such as a fine, for drug possession, but there would no longer be criminal charges. We should change prohibition laws that have proven ineffective and try a different approach. The benefits of decriminalization are obvious: less money spent on enforcing drug laws that don't work means more money for other, more pressing law enforcement challenges. Fewer drug arrests mean fewer people with criminal records who might have trouble finding jobs. Current drug addicts would no longer have to fear persecution and could receive the help they desperately need. Law enforcement could regain public trust and respect. These are all reasons why we should... middle of paper ...... fight the myths. (Featured article). " Corrections Today 64.7 (2002): 86+. Academic OneFile. Web. September 25, 2014. Nadelmann, Ethan A. “Drug Decriminalization: Response” Science, New Series, Vol. 246. 1989: 1104-1105 American Association for Advancing Science Web, September 25, 2014. In Ethan Nadelmann's "Drug Decriminalization: Response," Nadelmann thoughtfully responds to an article on drug decriminalization that says alcohol prohibition was responsible for the decline in drug use. alcohol-related hospitalizations during this period Nadelmann counters with data showing a similar decline at the same time in Britain, despite the lack of prohibition there. This type of information will be used in my essay to. dispelling common myths about drug prohibition Nadelmann is a credible source as his article was published in Science magazine, a scientific periodical founded by Thomas Edison..