War on Drugs in America

The initiative of the American government in fighting drugs has failed to keep its citizens from using drugs. It as not only failed, but also there are bigger problems in its tactics in the crackdown that it promised to solve the issue of drug use. There are issues as crime and violence that are fostered by drug prohibition. The prohibition also helps finance terrorism, as well as compromises the border security of the United States. There is the presence of undermined liberty and the militarized law enforcement. The book on bad trip reveals the implications of the war on drugs in the United States. The prohibition of drugs is meant to make America a better place but in reality its manifests are worse just like a drug trip that has gone bad. There are several controversial issues raised in the book related to the war on drugs. This paper will support the opinion of Miller on the argument of the dirty blue.

This paper discusses the issue of the dirty blue and supports Miller’s view as it is evident that the prohibition of drugs has led to corrupt law enforcement officers. The police involved in drug corruption is widespread as it is very easy to find such cases in the country. The Knapp Commission in 1972 found out that there was extensive police corruption in the department. The committee also came across a case of one officer who was found to be earning eight thousand dollars a week as a result of drug trading. According to the 1998 general accounting office report, drug-related police corruption studies and investigations suggested that the on-duty police officers indulged in serious criminal activities. The activities included stealing money and drugs from drug dealers, conducting unconstitutional searches and seizure, selling stolen drugs, provision of false testimonials, protecting drug operations as well as submitting false crime reports. Blames are there on the drug prohibition for the problem of the crimes related to drugs.

The fact that the prohibition of the drugs creates an environment that is incredibly insensitive to corruption therefore it supports the argument that the war on drugs is destroying America. The price for illegal substance is very high hence there is an involvement of significant amount of money. A person who is languishing in poverty, a high school dropout, and even a law enforcer officer will apparently go for the deal and get himself in the game. Rasmussen, an economist, confirmed that the lucrative source of police corruption in the United States is the illicit drug market. Considering the low pay scales of the law enforcers, the large amounts of the seized drug money will be appealing to the officer who is earning a total of thirty to thirty-five thousand dollars a year. It is the reason as to why there is a large figure of corruption cases among the law enforcers. An officer goes with the flow once he has started into dastardly behavior. According to an economist Thornton, the cost of subsequent corruption acts declines as long as an officer has committed one fraud act.

 Police officers protect the drug dealers from arrest and as a result they receive a rich reward as a form of appreciation. It is a valuable asset for crooked law enforcers as they are empowered by the prohibition. Thornton continued to explain how law enforcers can allow illegal operations to be conducted by individual groups while on the other hand harassing other participants with the aim of discouraging them entry to the market. In the long run, the law enforcers sell the monopoly rights to underground markets consisting of the private sector and eventually enforce the allocations of the rights. An officer may also be both motivated and unscrupulous to search for a drug dealer and place an offer for illegal operation. Both the officer and the peddler will make money as a result. These illegal actions make it almost impossible to fight against drugs. It is systematic as this kind of act can affect many other occasional officers.

According to Rothbard, the government first outlaws a particular activity (drugs, construction, or gambling) then in turn the government officers take advantage as it is an alluring opportunity. They  indulge in selling to would-be entrepreneurs in the privileged business. There are small gangs of police who are gangsters due to the environment created by the drug laws. They have kidnaped, committed murder and have engaged themselves in an armed robbery. These incidences of law enforcers turning to be lawbreakers are flush with irony. Many of the police drug related crimes are usually committed while on duty as the police gangsters wear their uniforms. The war on drugs is merely impossible as the law enforcers are the gangsters.

In conclusion, the initiative of the American government regarding the issue of the drug war has failed. It is therefore required to approach the war on drugs in an entirely different manner so as to be successful. The arguments that counter Miller’s case suggest that police are the main role players in the issue of prohibition of drugs in America. There are several flaws in the arguments. One of the flaws is that there exists corruption within the police department and will continue to prevail. The other flaw is that the drug prohibition inflates corruption more than anything else. As long as the prohibition exists, there will be economic incentives that will continue to persist as the public trust will continuously falter towards the law enforcement department. With the flaws in existence, the war on drugs in America will never succeed. It is vital to consider an increase in the salary of the law enforcers as they indulge in such acts of unlawful operations due to low salaries. The second factor is any police officer found in any illegal act that is against drug law should receive a hefty punishment. Lastly, the role of the police needs to be reconsidered on the issue of war on drugs in America so that to have a better society in future.