War on Drugs, Gang Violence, Cocaine vs. Crack Essay Example

The United States started the war on drugs especially cocaine, crack and gang violence a long time ago. To achieve its goals in the war, the government was able to put in place several laws. The first law was the San Francisco law which acted to ban the smoking of opium. This ban took place in the year 1875. But it was observed that the law only prohibited the smoking of opium but not the consumption of other forms of the drug. Other laws that followed the first law banned Colombia from carrying out drug trafficking in the United States hence making it lose a lot of revenue from the trade. Although it was taken effectively, the producers of the product and alcohol were not considered (Aldhous 14). The focus was only on the distributors of the product.

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Opium was taken as medicine by the citizens of America; hence stopping its distribution was a problem. On the hand, the prohibition on the usage of cocaine began in the early phases of the twentieth century. Reports about the usage of the drug were all over in media houses and even in the newspapers. The news had already started causing a lot of tension in the country, therefore, raising concerns to several bodies in the government. Due to the tension, a lot of suggestions on dealing with the problem started to come up. At the same time, crack also became a major topic to be discussed following its visible effects on the nation. Recently, gang violence came on the rise hence taking away the lives of people in the nation. The rate of insecurity became high therefore scaring away the visitors from visiting the country. Due to effect effects caused by the drugs, gang violence, cocaine and crack, the government decided to start a fight of eradicating them to save the lives of the people.

Quite a number of teens in the US have been sentenced unlawfully just to illustrate the efforts of the present government of America on the war on gangs. The current US government has declared a war on the MS-13 gang, a gang that has gone on its way to deny people in the country their peace. The war has focused on the cities and the communities that have been targeted by the gang to prevent its people from being affected by the gang. Among the cities and the communities that are targeted include the long island, New York and the areas surrounding them. New York and its neighbors form the hotspot of the gang violence than the other named regions in America. Major threats to the people's lives come from these areas hence has earned the first priority of the gang fight from the government (Craig 136). In the previous years, the government arrested a great number of people who claimed to be the members of the group. Just after the arrest, it was reported that it had members of Central America as their target. They even had put in place several ways of attacking the place and the tools of using during the attack.

By looking at its history, the group was formed in the Los Angeles back in the year 1980 by the immigrants from El Salvador due to civil unrest. The gang then spread to the central part of America and other parts of El Salvador due to the deportation policies in the US. Numerous cities in the country also received members of the gang. Due to the murders of several citizens in Washington and Long Island, the gang has gained a lot of fame and has become more vibrant in the United States (Bagley 165). The reports have also claimed that 17 killings of the residents of the Long Island have been linked to the gang in 2016 and 2017. These killings made the president of the United States to announce a call for an effective immigration policies in the country and also formulate laws on the dealing of the gang. He also called for the formation of greater security at the borders. The decision came after the realization that the gang sneaked to the country through the weak borders and managed to kill the citizens. In the year 2017, the local police in partnership with the immigration department in the US managed to arrest some members of the gang hence reducing the violence cases in the region.

Recently, the government of US issued a stern warning to Colombia concerning the issue of cultivation of cocoa and production of cocaine. It said that the state was on the verge of failing demonstrably unless it followed lived by the international agreements on counter-narcotic among countries. Columbia has been in the business, drug trafficking, in America for two decades now. The period has made them become heroes in the trade because the US for all this time has never bothered to put restrictions on this trade (Nickson 155). During this period, the people of Colombia have been getting a living in this trade and improved the economy of the country due to the revenue obtained from the trade. Therefore, the ban seemed to destroy and affect their economy leaving the people dealing in the business to be jobless (Aldhous 14). Although this was a hard decision, the people of Colombia had to obey the order and live by it since it was also hard to avoid. Just a month before the US raised the concern on Columbia about the trade, the agency dealing with the enforcement of the drug reported the United States was about to experience the highest level in the cocaine supply and usage in one decade. The report was as a result of the government policy of Colombia on the policy decisions on the agreements for peace in the region.

It is worth noting that Colombia has remained to be a disturbing element on the fight for the prohibiting cocaine and other drugs in the US. The country has caused more drug trafficking problems in the Western Hemisphere (Bagley 162). It is also the main supply of cocaine in the United States of America. It has supplied the drug to the citizens for quite some time. All these problems have been caused by the loose consensus on dealing with the trafficking of illegal drugs in the region. The consensus became weak immediately after the people in the region failed to recognize the efforts of the US in dealing with the consumption and trade in the drugs. However, to revive the powers of the consensus, the government of US has suggested some diplomacy methods to strengthen the eradication and enforcement methods when dealing with drugs. Furthermore, the administration has put in place judicial systems just to add more weight to the enforcement and the eradication policies on the drugs. It has set aside programs to educate its farmers on the effects of taking part in the drug business. Farmers were advised on dealing in other farming activities rather than drugs to earn their living.

Considering the effects caused by the crack on the population of the United States, the government has formulated several measures to deal with its associated problems. As compared to the other drugs and gang violence, crack's effects seem to be more visible hence needs closer attention. Among the various methods put in place are: reducing the demand of the drug, reducing on the supply of the products to the consumers, seeking for the global action from the member states concerning the issue, and conducting a recovery from the use of the drug. To put them into action, the government the government has decided to take an action on the production and spread of the drug to different age groups of the US people (Melhuish 205). Since the youth are the ones who likely affected, the government has decided to educate them on the dangers of the drug, therefore, persuading them to shun from the drug abuse. To reduce the supply of crack, the government has decided to employ technology in order to track the drug traffickers. Additionally, the state through its administration has taken those affected by the drugs to the rehabilitation centres. The methods work better to assure the state that the affected individuals will change hence be converted to the useful people in the community. Such people can take part in the projects that can lead to the development of the areas they come from.

Conclusion

In precise, the government of the US should put in place strict immigration laws on its borders, more insecurity problems will be witnessed as many of the gang people will fail to enter into the targeted area. The government should also encourage and carry out public campaigns on the harmful effects of the drugs. The approach can help in adding more bulk to the war against drugs in the country. Additionally, more rehabilitation centres should be constructed to deal with the citizens who have been affected with the drugs and hence convert them to be useful people in the society where they come from.

References

Aldhous, Peter. "States Lead The US Toward A New Era In Its War On Drugs". New Scientist, vol 219, no. 2931, 2013, pp. 12-15. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/s0262-4079(13)62070-9. Accessed 6 Mar 2015.

Bagley, Bruce Michael. "The New Hundred Years War? US National Security And The War On Drugs In Latin America". Journal Of Interamerican Studies And World Affairs, vol 30, no. 1, 1988, pp. 161-165. Cambridge University Press (CUP), doi:10.2307/165793. Accessed 9 Feb 2015.

Craig, Richard B. "Red Cocaine: The Drugging Of America". Orbis, vol 37, no. 1, 1993, pp. 135-140. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/0030-4387(93)90015-5. Accessed 8 Apr 2015.

Melhuish, Joanna. "Crack Cocaine Use And Parenting: An Analysis Of Three Parents' Accounts Of The Impact Their Crack Cocaine Use Had On Family Life". Practice, vol 23, no. 4, 2011, pp. 201-213. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/09503153.2011.597203. Accessed 9 June 2010.

Nickson, Andrew. "Revolutionary Movements In Latin America After The Cold War: The Case Of The Ejercito Del Pueblo Paraguayo". Bulletin Of Latin American Research, 2015, pp. 152-159. Wiley, doi:10.1111/blar.12851. Accessed 9 Apr 2013.