The "war on drugs" has been going on since Richard Nixon was President of the United States in the 1970s, and it has been a rather expensive venture.
What Does the War on Drugs Involve?
Before looking at how much it costs to maintain the war on drugs, it is important to take a look at what it means.
While Richard Nixon was the President who made the declaration, Ronald Reagan's administration is commonly referenced in connection with the war on drugs.
It was in 1986, during Reagan's presidency, that mandatory minimum sentencing laws were passed for drug offenses. Mandatory minimum sentences require a certain amount of jail time for drug offenders depending on the type of drug, the weight of the drug involved, and the number of prior convictions. Judges are not allowed to decrease the amount of jail time for any reason other than acting as an informant to help the prosecution.
The intent of minimum sentencing laws was to get to the drug "king pins" who rank high in the drug trafficking schemes, but they are often the ones who are able to "name names" and avoid lengthier prison sentences. Instead, extensive sentences may be required for low-level, non-violent drug offenders who cannot provide helpful information to the government.
According to the Department of Justice, over half of all sentenced federal prisoners are drug offenders. Over 80% of the increase in the federal prison population was due to drug convictions between 1985 and 1995. In addition, a 2006 report claimed that 17% of State prisoners and 18% of Federal prisoners committed their crimes in order to obtain drug money. According to a 2001 report, the average sentence for all offenses was 56.8 months. The average sentence for drug offenses was 75.6 months, while the average sentence for violent offenses was 63.0 months.
Someone is arrested for violating a drug law every 17 seconds. Someone is arrested for violating a cannabis law every 38 seconds.
Public health costs must also be taken into account. Because the federal government bans funding for needle exchange programs, many heroin users share dirty needles, spreading diseases like HIV/AIDS. By 2000, more than 250,000 HIV/AIDS infections could be attributed to the use of dirty needles by injectable drug users. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 11(No. 2). 1999)
The Cost of the War on Drugs
Over $19 billion was spent on the war on drugs by the federal government in 2003, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. This equates to $600 per second. Of this money, 61% went to criminal justice, and 30% went for treatment and prevention programs ("What Does The Drug War Cost?" New Times, June 24, 1999). Another $30 billion was spent by state and local governments.
According to the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy, it costs approximately $450,000 to put a single drug dealer in jail. This cost includes the costs of arrest, conviction, room, and board.
There is no centralized accounting for the DARE program, which is primarily funded locally by towns, public schools, or police departments, but the Office of National Drug Control Policy stated that $41 million in federal funding had been provided for DARE in a recent year. (Edward M. Shepard III, "The Economic Costs of D.A.R.E." September 2001)
Needle exchange programs could prevent about 10 new HIV/AIDS infections every day. According to "The Lifetime Cost of Current HIV Care in the United States," a major study appearing in the November 2006 issue of Medical Care, it can cost $618,900 per person for lifetime care of HIV/AIDS, or $2,100 per month.
The costs associated with funding police department drug units and running federal prisons take money away from funding public education and running colleges and universities. It should also be noted that law enforcement officials who are assigned to drug-related investigation and prosecution are not instead investigating or prosecuting violent crimes.
Additional Information
References for this article not attributed above include the Drug Policy Alliance and the War On Drugs Clock. Other articles of interest include The Lost War and The War on Drugs: A legal argument for rehabilitation over punishment.
Christina Gleason - Christina Gleason is the founder of Phenomenal Content LLC, providing online copywriting services for Web content. She is a happily ...
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