What is the real war on drugs about?

Question

I am interested to know what someone who works as a counselor with drug and alcohol addicted people feels about the war on drugs. In my opinion it’s a tragedy and legalization or decriminalization makes a lot more sense, and the criminalization of a medical issue just creates a lot of unnecessary pain and violence in our society. But then again I don’t have a personal experience with addiction and so maybe I don’t understand the whole story. What do you think? Is decriminalization a sensible idea, or is the drug war a war that needs to be won?

Scott Graham · Accepted Answer

I consider the "war on drugs" to be more of a political issue. And from what I see in the addictions counseling field, that "war" is not winning. And I don't know if it can.

I think the real "war" is about the choices we make and helping people to make better choices whether that is around alcohol use (legal in the use), cigarette smoking (legal in the US and kills more than all other drugs combined), the overindulgence of chili-cheese-fries and other "addictive" behaviors.

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