ABSTRACT
"The American people want their government to get tough and stay on the offensive," said Ronald Reagan over fourteen years ago when describing American drug policy as a "war on drugs." The Reagan administration began its drug war by creating mandatory prison terms for drug users and expanding public funding for the criminal justice system. The criminal penalties against drug users are defended as reasonable because drug addicts are believed to be a danger to society. Incarcerating drug users is defended as ethical policy based on social utility because it deters drug use. The chapter continues to allocate enormous funding for prisons while ignoring the social resources needed for public health and economic development in communities that are continually deteriorating in American society. It elaborates on each of these points and explains why a public health strategy must replace our criminal justice policies on drug use.
