This Is Your Country On Drugs Analysis

Words: 1400
Pages: 6
Open Document
The Futility and Hypocrisy of War on Drugs in America
Ryan Grim’s book, “This Is Your Country on Drugs – The Secret History of Getting High in America,” demonstrates the complex relationship between the American people, their drugs, and their government. In his book, he displays his extensive research on the history of drugs and drug policies in America. With a professional tone throughout, Grim is unabashed to admit his past of using and enjoying drugs, while providing solid evidence to back up his claim that America’s government’s attempt to put a stop to drug use was ineffective and pointless, because the people would always find a new, non-illegal drug to focus on, as history has proven itself. “This Is Your Country on Drugs” offers a new …show more content…
As the government struggled to ban drug use and trafficking, the people consistently strived to look for new, not illegal alternatives. It had started with the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914, in response to the rapidly increasing level of drug abuse in the U.S., when the government aimed to control drugs through taxation. The act was the first major federal law to regulate drugs, with its purpose being attempting to manage the chaotic drug market in the name of public health and the common good. It required the distribution, importation, and manufacturing of narcotics and cocaine, which is not a narcotic, to be registered and taxed. A few years after its adoption, the Harrison Act was used to indict doctors and pharmacists of providing narcotics to addicts. However, as response to the government’s tight restriction, people turned to the black markets for drugs instead. In the 1920s, the Narcotic Act was tied to Prohibition of drugs, a mean to prevent the recreational use of prohibited drugs, during which a new drug appeared and quickly gained popularity amongst people, as well as unpopularity with the U.S. law enforcement, marijuana. Despite that, the growth, use, and trade of marijuana were legal, according to the federal law, until 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act was officially passed. The act was suggested when the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) took notice of the rise in the amount of people smoking marijuana, which received support from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and it had placed a high tax on the sales and distribution of cannabis, which quickly gained dissent from the American Medical Association (AMA), particularly from Dr. William Woodward, the AMA’s top lobbyist. The AMA, which had been against the Harrison Act of 1914, was strongly opposed to the taxation on marijuana as well as this incursion into the doctor’s office. Another reason why the
Show More

Related Documents: This Is Your Country On Drugs Analysis

Questions On Personal Ethics

remember that your answer needs to be a carefully reasoned and logically presented argument that comes to a definite conclusion applying an objective standard (one of the theories) to support your position. When I use the phrase objective standard I am referring to something that is quantifiable or can be used by others to judge whether your position is more than just a personal opinion. That is where the ethical theories we have studied come in--they allow you to explain, justify and judge your conclusions…

Words 2573 - Pages 11

I Make Big Pimping Essay

CURRENT EVENT ANALYSIS Instruction 1. You need to analyze two cases. Case-1 is about a microeconomic topic: elasticity and illegal drugs. Case-2 is about a macroeconomic topic: inflation and purchasing power. 2. Each case is 5 points (5 % of final grade). So, current event analysis is 10 points (10% of final grade) 3. Turn in your analysis - Hardcopies (one page case-1 analysis and one page case-2 analysis) - At 11:00 am on April 24, Wednesday - In class 4. The written…

Words 457 - Pages 2

Essay about Drugs in Prison

Abstract This research paper will consist of an analysis of the use and abuse of illicit drugs within the prison systems on a global basis. With information gathered from various sources such as the internet and one on one interviews with an inmate in a male correctional facility and a former inmate of a female correctional facility I intend to show the rampant flow of drugs in and out of the prison system, the control of (or lack there of) by prison officials, the drug gangs and dealers…

Words 3310 - Pages 14

Edward Snowden Violations

A person monitoring and recording your every movement is the same as the National Security Agency (NSA) monitoring your movements through any electronic devices and apps like your phone and social media. The National Security Agency (NSA) is currently in charge as the protector of the U.S Government. Secretly the Congress passed and President George Bush signed the USA Patriot Act months after the terrorist attack that happened on September 11th, 2001. The Patriot Act "expanded the government’s…

Words 904 - Pages 4

Brain and Author Esther Choo Essay

the reader with the assumption that there is evidence to back his statement. Choo (2013), “Based on their analysis of 32,570 students, they found that while marijuana use was common throughout the study period, there were no statistically significant differences in marijuana use between states in any year” (para.4). Although I am for the medical use of marijuana, I completely disagree with this statement in its entirety. The human brain is not completely developed until the age of 25 years (Kristen…

Words 455 - Pages 2

Drug Addiction and Points Earned Essay

University of Phoenix Lets Be Blunt: Do Social Addictions Call the Shots? Russian roulette is the game of life and death, taking chances and beating the odds. Imagine placing a single bullet in the chamber of a pistol, putting that pistol to your head, and then pulling the trigger. In America, an average of 130 million people are current drinkers. How often do legal age adults go to dinner, to a bar, or over a friend’s house where they consume enough alcohol to put them over the legal limit…

Words 2601 - Pages 11

Analyzing The History Of Drugs In The United States

Analyzing the History of Drugs And Understand the Drug Laws, Drug Problems, Drug Use and Abuse In America I will discuss the history of drugs starting with the Drug regulation from 1914 – 1937. Then I will talk about drugs in relation to witchcraft. Drugs use with witchcraft had a special effects on the brain and body. Heroin cause a major uproar during the 1960s and 70s. After looking at the heroin uproar I will take a look at the globalization of Drug Regulation from 2001 until present…

Words 4040 - Pages 17

Procurement at Betapharm Corp. Case Essay

increased demand and projected future growth due to: o A growing elderly segment o Increased average life expectancy o Rising incidence of chronic diseases - Pricing pressures from managed care and government programs and the migration to generic drugs due…

Words 1776 - Pages 8

The Sociological Perspective: A Case Study

Barb: Why is the sociological perspective useful? Address each of the following. (a) Describe the sociological perspective and (b) Explain in what ways it is of value. Provide at least two concrete examples (in your own words) and explain why they are good examples. The sociological perspective examines why people do what they do. It examines the social contexts in which people live and how it influences their lives (Henslin, 2014). It is not to compare people…

Words 671 - Pages 3

Essay on the negative effects of dtc advertisement

medications. There is a pill and a drug for every ailment, but does every drug have the research behind it attesting to its safety? What makes this question even more pertinent, is the money spent every year marketing these drugs directly to the people that consume them. It is estimated that drug companies in the United States spent 19 times more on self promotion than basic research, in 2012 alone (according to the Pharmaceutical Research in BMJ (2012)). This essay will utilize the well known case…

Words 975 - Pages 4