1960s Drugs Essay

Besides this, many people are concerned because of the influx of hard drugs, especially heroin, to the mainstream rather than being hidden in the poverty-stricken inner cities. In recent years, crack, cocaine, and heroin have been more prevelant than ever, especially among the wealthy. Drugs are no longer something that only gang members and bad guys do, everybody is doing them. (Inciardi 1999)

Drugs highly influence music in the sixties with bands such as The Byrds, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and The Beatles. These bands took inspiration from the affects that the drugs had on them with their psychedelic properties. Drugs were also just starting to get introduced and people were highly influenced with positive drug propaganda (“The 60 's”). So, the positivity about drugs were influencing the bands and the bands were influencing the people and the more dugs being bought, the more people heard about them, and the more people heard about them, the more they were used, so basically it was just an endless cycle of drug positivity.

She argues that when President Reagan officially announced the War on Drugs, less than 2 percent of the American public viewed drugs as the most important issue of the nation. Crack began to spread within the black community two years after

In 1982 the crack epidemic started, which shortly after Ronald Reagan expanded the war on drugs that Nixon started, one of his top aides admitted that the war on drugs was used to “target African Americans and hippies”. The number of incarcerations before the war on drugs was expanded in 1980 was four thousand seven hundred forty-nine for drug related crimes, in 1990 that number increased to twenty-four thousand two hundred ninety-seven, sixty percent of those incarcerations were African Americans (sentencingproject.org). If you were caught with one gram of crack you got the same sentencing as someone found with eighteen grams of cocaine, it was policies like these that targeted lower income black communities because crack was much cheaper than cocaine and was more likely for a white person to have cocaine.

A movement arose among the artists of 1950s America as a reaction to the time's prevailing conformity and affluence whose members attempted to extract all they could from life, often in a strikingly self-destructive way. Specifically, the Beat writers and jazz musicians of the era found escape from society in drugs and fast living. But what exactly led so many to this dangerous path? Why did they choose drugs and speed to implement their rebellion? A preliminary look at the contradictions that prevailed in 1950s American society may give some insight into these artists' world.

In the late 1960's and early 1970's, the federal government began to increasingly tighten drug laws. In 1972, President Richard Nixon formally declared a "War on Drugs", which continues

Olympic athlete from the 1968 olympics Bill Toomey said, “During the 60’s, drug use was in fashion in the US.” In the 60s and 70s a lot of people in the United States of America did drugs. The two most popular drugs were marijuana and LSD. Drugs were an enormous part of the culture of the 60s and 70s, and some of the drugs they did today are used for medical reasons.

The War on Drugs was the United Sates government’s attempt to stop the sale and use of illegal drug use. It consisted of anti-drug legislation all with the plan to end drug abuse in America. President Nixon declared and coined the phrase “War on drugs” and increased drug control agencies and pushed for harder sentencing for drug offenses. The war on drugs is an issue that we are still fighting and many of the policies put in place did more harm than good. The drug war affected all people, but it had unequal outcomes for different racial groups and many of the historical pieces of legislation put in place impacted these outcomes and are still affecting many people of color today.

"Cocaine and crack are among the most addictive substances known to modern science, and they have already ruined the lives of millions of Americans" (Morganthau and Miller, 208). Cocaine and crack are both dangerous, harmful drugs. Though pleasurable effects can be obtained from these drugs, the use of crack and cocaine cannot be worth the actual consequences that are inflicted on mind and body. The bad effects of these drugs, by far outweigh the good. Because crack and cocaine are so closely related, it is important to have a firm understanding of both drugs.

Throughout history there have been many ups and many downs. Many different things that have changed the United States for the good, and the bad. One thing that has always been an issue in the United States is drugs. They tear apart families and friends. Although today some drugs are legal and some are illegal they are all still a problem.

Its recreational use became widespread throughout the white upper middle class. In the 1970’s Richard Nixon and Congress instituted a “War on Drugs”. (Shectman, M., 2012). Marijuana, however, was categorized separately from other narcotics, which eliminated mandatory sentences for small amounts. In 1986, President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which instituted mandatory sentences for drug-related crimes. Possession of 100 marijuana plants now carried the same penalty as possession of 100 grams of heroin. This act was later amended to include the, “three strikes, you’re out” policy, requiring life sentences for repeat drug offenders. In 1989, President Bush reinforced this policy by declaring a new “War on Drugs”. (“Marijuana Timeline”).

Prescription drugs and street drugs that are destroying the world and the problem are increasing each year. More individuals that are realizing that they are becoming addicts. What can society do about this situation? One thing is with prescription drugs, make sure the patient’s that come in to see these doctor really have a full physical and make sure they have not been in that office or any other office several of times for pain/ the same issues.2). Street

The War on Drug has a history that starts in the early 20th century when the Harrison act passed Congress making substance such as heroin and cocaine illegal. In 1937 marijuana began to be scrutinized and eventually made illegal by the federal government. Over the decades there have been many stances on this issue by the government and citizens alike. Drug use was never really a major problem until the1960’s were drug use was increasing and became more tolerable in social situations such as concerts, parties, and other various areas. Then in the 1970’s the drug use was at an all-time him and many conserved citizens wanted the government to take the lead on this issue by ending it. President Nixon was elected with restoring law and order as his platform. He took a very strong stance against illegal drug use in this country. Millions of federal dollars were allocated to fight against drugs. The War on Drug still being fought today, but it has failed to decrease drug use or the crimes associated with it.

In today’s society, one person can have a handful of kids, claim they cannot find a job, sit at home, get taken care of for free, in the form of a monthly welfare check, rent, food stamps, health insurance and sometimes childcare. This same person can use their welfare check for whatever they want, including: cigarettes, alcohol, and yes even narcotics. Meanwhile a single mother of two will struggle to pay all her bills and feed her children for the reason that she makes ten dollars over the poverty limit. Given that the tax dollars from our paycheck support those on the welfare system, how fair is it that one person is forced to pay for another person’s potential drug habit or abuse of the system? While taking away government benefits

Studies have shown that in 2014 the use of illicit drugs among all grades of school children was at 27.2 percent, which was down from its peak 34.1 percent in 1997. (DrugFacts: High School and Youth Trends., n.d.)