The war on drugs is a multi-billion dollar business around the world. Gore Vidal in the essay “Drugs” talks about a hypothetical legalized drug world of which we all become zombies that walk around and say “groovy”. Our government says they are active in the war on drugs but the way they handle it has failed to make any difference or progress in stopping it from being sold on the streets. The real deal is that people want the money and drugs and the government is just as greedy as the people to keep the bureau of Narcotics around as long as drugs are around. The drugs addicts that they are putting behind bars and filling up our jails are not the real criminals. The impact the war has in the media about drug ad’s and what our government is and isn’t doing all takes a toll in why the drug war has essentially failed and why we need to end this drug prohibition. Instead of saying that drug addicts are criminals and putting them behind bars, they should be getting help and treatment in rehab facilities.
Vidal has stated that our government has not learned from our past attempts at prohibition and that “forbidding young people things they like or think they might enjoy only makes them want those things all the more” (859). An example of prohibition he uses was the alcohol prohibition of ‘demon rum’ and in return there was the greatest crime wave in this country’s history which caused thousands of deaths from bad alcohol (859).
In his essay Vidal says that if every sane person knew what addiction was going to be like that it would be unlikely that they would become drug addicts. Everyone has their own choice and decisions though and, “some people will always become drug addicts just as some people will always become alcoholics” (859). Vidal is saying that people don’t pick and choose and it’s the nature of the drugs that chooses the people.
The war on drugs is not blamed on the citizens instead Vidal points the finger at our government. In his essay he points...