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GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government
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War on Drugs 2767 Views
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Description:
For years, the government has tried to deal with drugs in the United States. Unfortunately, many historians agree that the War on Drugs was great in theory...but a failure in reality. Now, states are taking a new approach to drugs: if we legalize it and tax it, will that solve the problem? What say you, Shmoopers?
Transcript
- 00:08
War on Drugs, from Shmoop
- 00:11
This is what cocaine can do to a house. This is what heroin can do to a face.
- 00:16
This is what marijuana can do to a car.
- 00:20
Regardless of what you hear in the movies, drugs are a real problem in America,
- 00:23
and an even bigger problem to solve.
Full Transcript
- 00:25
This is what happens to innocent people when drug addicts get behind the wheel of a car.
- 00:29
Or use a gun to steal money for drugs.
- 00:32
Or tear a family apart.
- 00:33
So we can't do "nothing." Innocent people deserve more than "nothing."
- 00:38
The government has been trying to figure out what's better than nothing for years.
- 00:42
They've waged a three trillion dollar war.
- 00:44
Richard Nixon labeled drugs as "public enemy number one"
- 00:49
Nixon thought that the problem was drugs coming from Mexico.
- 00:52
So he ordered all traffic at the border to be invasively searched.
- 00:56
This practice violated a few civil liberties
- 01:01
And created a foreign policy nightmare with our friends south of the border,
- 01:04
So this approach was, more or less, a failure. Then Nixon focused on treatment for addicts,
- 01:10
Unfortunately drug use continued to rise. Then the Reagans came along,
- 01:14
And Nancy said the solution to drugs was -
- 01:17
"Just Say No." Easy. Piece o' cake.
- 01:20
For some reason, this technique didn't solve the problem...
- 01:23
Ronald Reagan created a law that made prison mandatory for anyone caught selling drugs.
- 01:27
The result?
- 01:29
Lots of dealers in jail.
- 01:30
Yet still lots of drugs on the Street.
- 01:33
Have we tried everything?
- 01:34
Is this a social problem?
- 01:36
Are we too uptight?
- 01:37
What do you think we should do?
- 01:39
What if we legalize drugs and then tax them?
- 01:41
Would this... "fix things?"
- 01:43
Nothing.
- 01:44
Doing "Nothing" is not an option.
- 01:47
Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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