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.