If any of you have ever watched an episode of “Locked Up” on
MSNBC then you have probably seen how prisoners are often able to obtain some
sort of drug even though they are confined in top security prisons. For those
of you who haven’t seen it “Locked Up” is a show that reveals the daily lives
of prisoners in the country’s most infamous prisons. In a lot of these episodes
prisoners are interviewed about their experience with drugs in prison. Whether
it’s homemade alcohol, marijuana, or heroin these inmates in every prison are
able to acquire some sort of illegal intoxicant. How can anyone claim that we
are making any significant progress in the drug war when our most secure
correctional institutions, which are locked down 24/7 by law enforcement
professionals, can’t even keep drugs out of the facility? If an environment
such as this is porous enough to allow drugs and money to flow in and out
regularly, then how do we expect to keep it out of the country entirely? This
should be a major indicator that our current strategy is fleeting.
No amount
of law enforcement personnel and resources will ever be enough to stop the
illegal drug trade. All the money that we pour into the drug war each year isn’t
even enough to slow it down any significant amount. The proof of this is seen
in the ever escalating violence south of the border. Many prohibition
supporters argue that if we built a fence covering the entire length of the
boarder and line the fence with National Guard and border patrol agents that
this would be enough to stop the drug trade along with illegal immigration.
First of all this idea is unrealistic, but for the sake of the argument let’s
assume that this could be possible. This would slow down the amount of traffic
that attempts to cross holes along the physical border such as people climbing
over fences and cutting holes in the chain link; however, this would not stop
the tunnels that are built under the fence nor would it stop drug traffic that travels
by water. The cartels possess simple yet sophisticated semi submersible water vessels
and submarines, and with so much man power focused on the border we would be
left vulnerable to sea trafficking. This wouldn’t hinder the drug traffic that travels
through the air in small aircraft either. Building a fence and lining it with
troops does close a door but it also inadvertently opens many others for exploitation.
We don’t
have to build a large fence spanning the border or throw more money into the
war on drugs every year to realize that more law enforcement is not a viable
solution to illegal drug trafficking. We can see the ineffectiveness of this
approach when we look at our prisons. These institutions which are locked down
by guards, bars, locks, fences, security cameras, and razor wire do a good job
of keeping inmates inside its walls but still cannot keep drugs from entering
inside them. The best solution is not more guns and guards but more rights!
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