Circles of Evidence/Areas of Discussion

Note: I have listed the Areas of Discussion as the title of each Circle of Evidence and i realize many of the source examples could apply to more than one "circle".


Decriminalization of Drugs in America
1st Circle: Human Rights and Constitutional Rights (Bill of Rights and Founding documents)

• UAB Kaleidoscope- The Drug War trumps constitutional rights, supports Mexican drug cartels. Illegal drugs with medicinal properties can be used to successfully treat patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
• Campaign for Liberty- Howard Wooldridge, who served as a Police detective for 18 yrs, saw firsthand how ineffective/unjust the Drug War is. Over 1.9 million citizens are arrested on drug charges each year.
• Time Magazine- Drug abuse in the U.S. is still higher than in E.U. countries with liberal drug policies.

2nd Circle: War on Drugs

• Houston Chronicle- After 40 years it has cost over $1 trillion and thousands of lives without having any affect on reducing drug use in the U.S. while prescription drug abuse climbs. 
• Drug War Facts- Referencing National Vital Statistics Reports from cdc.gov, it shows astounding trends in annual causes of death in the United States: 435,000 for Tobacco 85,000 for Alcohol and  17,000 for all Illicit Drug Use Direct and Indirect.
• Campaign for Liberty- A 2008 Zogby poll showed that 76% of Americans admit that the War on Drugs has been an ineffective, failed policy.

3rd Circle: Countries with Liberal Policies or Decriminalization Successes/Failures

• Time Magazine- Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001 with the hope that addicts who didn't get help because they feared incarceration would get help. Treatment is significantly less expensive for the country than incarceration, and the number of people in treatment for drug abuse more than doubled after decriminalization. "use of any illegal drug among seventh through ninth graders fell from 14.1% to 10.6%; drug use in older teens also declined. Lifetime heroin use among 16-to-18-year-olds fell from 2.5% to 1.8%. New HIV infections in drug users fell by 17% between 1999 and 2003, and deaths related to heroin and similar drugs were cut by more than half."
  

4th Circle: Legal vs. Illegal Drugs

• ABC News- Alcohol is more damaging to the body than heroin or cocaine. In the areas of health and prison costs, addictiveness, and family/economic problems alcohol is more destructive to society than illegal drugs including heroin and cocaine.
• Drug War Facts- Alcohol and Tobacco are responsible for over 500,000 annual deaths in the U.S., while all illicit drug use both direct and indirect are attributed to 17,000 annual deaths.