A failed attempt by the United States' government to
mandate a legitimate drug policy.
A Little bit of History:
The DEA was formed in 1973 by president
Richard Nixon. The primary goal of the DEA was to combat the importation and smuggling of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. In time, the DEA became a brutal force that essentially set out to catch every drug producer, manufacturer, dealer, and user.
DEA Today:
The Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States today is responsible for the search and seizure of drugs out there in the United States. Though their intentions may be good in the eyes of some, for others they have been the cause of countless numbers of deaths of innocent people.
Another major problem with the DEA is the scheduling system that has been
mandated. From a pharmacological standpoint, many illicit substances under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 have potential benefits to certain groups of individuals. Unfortunately, the DEA has some of the tightest restrictions known to mankind on these substances.
A common substance known as marijuana, is currently illegal on the Controlled Substance Act. The DEA claims a substance called
Marinol has the same benefits as regular marijuana. Marinol is extremely expensive, (Upwards of $450 for a one-month supply) and contains only one
cannabinoid, synthetic THC. Regular marijuana contains about 60
cannabinoids which can offer potential benefits to those with nausea, neuropathy, and
HIV/AIDS related fasting.
We need to look at the Drug Enforcement Administration like this:
The DEA is a government agency that has the power to fight almost all the drugs coming into the United States of America, if the DEA does this, then they will have done their job, and they will not need as much funding. Therefore, the DEA needs to continue having a "
War on Drugs", so the top officials can receive their annual bonuses and raises.
In essence, the
war on drugs will never end, unless
all drugs (which are mostly plant derived) that originate from plants go extinct, which is not going to happen.