François-Marie Arouet or Voltaire or was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit. One of his most famous quotes is: “It is better to risk saving the guilty than to condemn the innocent.” “This quote applies to one of the most disastrous campaigns of the 20th century and still today: the war on drugs and anti-drug policies. These campaigns and actions have cost Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars. Additionally, drug prohibition has only increased violent crime and created black markets and drug trafficking worth more than $300 billion. Furthermore, instead of protecting the public, it has caused public health crises such as the opioid epidemic and increased the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV. Additionally, the war on drugs has targeted people and caused them the most damage and destroyed lives. Instead of treating people with drug addiction and mental illness, the government has locked them up instead of helping them integrate into society. Ironically, one way to solve the drug problem is to legalize drugs. In short, Canada must reform its drug laws and end the disastrous war on drugs. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Costing Money For starters, the drug trade is currently worth over $300 billion, which is more than the $283. 7 billion USD GDP of Pakistan. Canada spent millions of dollars on a war the United States started in 1971, when President Nixon declared drug addiction "the public enemy." From 2013 to 2014, the Harper government spent $7 million on a 12-week anti-drug advertising campaign. Additionally, the $7 million spent on anti-pot ads topped $5 million. 2 million that Health Canada spent on advertising the previous year. Health Canada had advertised on a wide range of topics, including food safety, immunization, adverse drug reactions, and the health and safety of Canadian citizens. In Canada, illegal drug sales are worth between $7 billion and $10 billion a year and to counter this, the government spends about $2 billion a year on law enforcement that doesn't work. Much like the United States, Canada's war on drugs is also expanding to South America in an attempt to dismantle drug cartels. In 2012, the Harper government announced the Canadian Central America Security Initiative (CISCA), a $25 million program designed to help and train people. troops in South America to fight these cartels. Currently, Canada has a presence in Brazil, Colombia, Belize and the Central American states. Additionally, $50 billion is spent each year by the Canadian government to combat the drug habits of Canadian citizens, which is approximately 3 times more spending on prisoners than on students. The combined spending is more than the total amount spent on First Nations health services, veterans' health care, health research and public health programs combined. In short, Canada has wasted billions of dollars each year to fight drugs when the Canadian government could have spent this money elsewhere, such as on the education system, to repair the health system or even to modernize equipment. military obsolete usedby our men and women who serve. . In fact, the reason the war on drugs costs Canada billions of dollars is because of prohibition. Prohibition does not work. Another reason Canada needs to reform its drug laws and end the war on drugs is that prohibition doesn't work. In 1920, when the national ban on alcohol took effect, it created a black market in alcohol and organized crime exploded. In a study of more than 30 major U.S. cities during the Prohibition years of 1920 to 1921, crimes increased by 24 percent. Additionally, thefts and burglaries increased by 9%, homicides by 12.7%, assault and battery by 13%, drug abuse by 44.6% and policing costs by 11.4%. %. This has largely contributed to the rise of “black market violence” and the diffusion of police resources elsewhere. Despite the hope of prohibition movements that banning alcohol would reduce crime, the reality was that it led to higher crime rates than before prohibition. One of the most famous incidents of Prohibition was the Valentine's Day Massacre, which left seven people dead and is considered one of the deadliest days in Mafia history and was carried out by one of the most infamous mob bosses in history, Al Capone. Since the War on Drugs began in 1971, drug trafficking has reached an estimated value of $300 billion and increased violence. Additionally, the black market encourages criminals to protect their secrets. For many drug traffickers, the most effective way to do this is to “get rid” of potential leaks from their organizations. Additionally, black markets require that conflicts be resolved through violence. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, “You can’t sue someone for drug debt; the only way to get your money is through strong-arm tactics, and violence tends to follow. “Furthermore, without the black markets created by anti-drug policies stemming from the War on Drugs, countries like the United States or Canada would likely not have drug traffickers, black markets, or drug importers. and notorious drug cartels. Even if criminal gangs persisted, it would be like after Prohibition was called, organized gangs would wield less power and maim or kill fewer people. Additionally, the opioid crisis began even though the Canadian government had drug policy laws in place. The opioid crisis claimed nearly 30,000 lives of the 72,000 overdose deaths in the United States last year, according to the CDC, and in Canada, opioids caused a record 4,000 deaths last year last. The opioid crisis began in the 1990s, when big pharmaceutical companies began aggressively marketing these painkillers to doctors and patients. As a result, patients became addicted and if they couldn't get their painkillers legally on prescription, they would unfortunately take them off the streets. This has led patients to try different medications to relieve their pain, and one of the most well-known pain relief medications is heroin. Heroin is three times more powerful than morphine and has always been a problem. However, recently the main culprit in opioid-related deaths is Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Additionally, fentanyl is produced illegally in China and traded in the United States through cartelsMexicans, finally arriving in Canada. Fentanyl is frequently incorporated into or completely substituted for heroin. Additionally, it is used in counterfeit pills labeled as other substances, such as Xanax or Vicodin (another pain reliever). For this reason, fentanyl users are often unaware of its presence, increasing the risk of overdose. Additionally, fentanyl is easier and cheaper to manufacture than heroin, which explains its popularity with drug dealers to maximize their profits. Overall, prohibition has produced more harm than good, such as an increase in violent crime and public health crises like the opioid epidemic. However, there could be a solution if we change our drug policies and help people who are addicted. By reforming our possession laws. We should help these people instead of locking them up. Continuing this topic, Dr. Gabor Maté, addiction expert, said: “There is no war on drugs since you cannot wage war on inanimate objects. There is a war against drug addicts, who are often the most abused and traumatized people in society. In other words, our culture punishes people who have suffered and who use substances to relieve their pain. “Not only has the war on drugs targeted people, but it has also targeted the most vulnerable people in our society who use drugs, like veterans, inner-city minorities, homeless people, people. who suffer from mental illnesses and young men Additionally, these groups are marginalized in society and tend to experience a general state of anxiety and hopelessness, which in turn leads them to turn to medication to cope. to their pain, once they turn to drugs, they become addicted and end up one of two ways: ; in prison for 5 years for drug possession despite not being a danger to society However, there is one country that is leading the world in reforming its drug policy: it is. Portugal. In 2001, Portugal decriminalized drug possession and has done wonders in this area. First, drug use has not increased, but has actually decreased. For example, the number of people using heroin before decriminalization was around 100,000 people. Today, the population is 25,000, a decrease of 75%. Second, drug overdoses and HIV infection rates are declining. In 2001, 80 people died in Portugal from what doctors determined was drug-related. Additionally, by 2012, that number had dropped to 16 drug-related deaths. At the same time, recorded HIV cases among injecting drug users have also declined significantly. There were 1,016 cases recorded in 2001 and this figure fell to 56 cases recorded in 2012. What is particularly important is that with fewer drug users in prison, there has also been a measurable reduction of pressure on the Portuguese justice system which, if Canada and the United States take this route, would result in less money spent on housing prisoners. Furthermore, experts generally agree that Portugal's drug policy has helped keep more people alive and prevented many more from contracting blood-borne infections, such as HIV. Third, drug use is always treated the same way across the world...