The United States has spent over $1 trillion on the war on drugs since 1971, resulting in hundreds of thousands of lives lost. Enforcement of drug laws has led to over 1.5 million arrests annually for nonviolent drug offenses and mass incarceration that disproportionately impacts minority communities. Treatment is more effective than incarceration for drug offenders, though only a small portion of the war on drugs budget supports public health policies. The war on drugs has also failed to curb drug use and has contributed to tens of thousands of deaths in Mexico from drug cartel violence.

2. HOW MUCH MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT
BY THE US IN 40 YEARS?

3. $
To lock those people
up in federal prisons
Other costs: an overburdened
justice system, a strained health
care system, lost productivity, and
environmental destruction
215 billion
To fight the drug gangs
in their home countries
20 billion
450 billion
In marketing "Just Say No"-style
messages to America's youth and
other prevention programs
33 billion
Law enforcement along
America’s borders
49 billion
To arrest more than 37 million
nonviolent drug offenders
121 billion
1 Trillion ($1,000,000,000,0000)
Since first declared in 1970 by President Nixon, the United States' war on drugs
has cost $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives.

4. HOW MUCH MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT
BY THE US IN 40 YEARS?

5. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
1971 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
billion
billion
billion
billion
billion
billion
billion
billion
billion
billion
0.1
6.3
7.5 7.6
9.6
10.5
9.8
10.7
11.2
12
12.8 13.1 13.8 13.3
15.3 15
15.6
The first drug-fighting budget
was $100 MILLION.
The proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 of
the Obama Administration was 15.6 billion

6. HOW HAS THE WAR ON DRUGS CHANGED
THE US CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM?

7. Number of people arrested in 2013 in
the U.S. on nonviolent drug charges -
the highest incarceration rate in the
world
1,574,700
prisoners

8. More than 1.57 million inmates sat behind bars in federal, state, and
county prisons and jails around the country as of December 31, 2013.
In the federal prisons, more than half of those sentenced to a stints of
a year or longer are still there for drug crimes.
Highest Incarceration Rate in the World

9. In terms of police powers, civil assets forfeitures have been justi-
fied to take the drug dealing organizations assets- cash in particular-
and use the gains to fund more anti-drug-operations.
$
$
$$
$
$
$
$
$$
$
$

10. Criminal forfeiture occurs after someone is convicted of a crime - the
government seizes all property related to that crime (such as a car
that was used to commit a robbery or money earned selling drugs).
Civil Assets Forfeitures

11. Number of students who have lost federal financial
aid eligibility because of a drug conviction
Possesion Sales
Drug
Abuse
200,000+
students

12. The nation's drug laws punish students who receive financial aid with
drug convictions. After navigating the criminal justice system, these
young people then face an enormous barrier when moving forward
with their education. Federal grant and loan programs assist millions
of students each year that would not otherwise have the opportunity
to attend college.
Lost of Federal Financial Aid Eligibility

13. IS THE WAR ON DRUGS SUCCEEDING?

14. In the US, the war on drugs mostly impacts
minority, particularly black, communities.
Although black communities aren't more
likely to use or sell drugs, African-Americans
are 13 times more likely to go to jail for
drugs than whites.
Is war on drugs racist?

15. Need of
Treatment
70% 80%
It is estimated that 70 to 85 percent of the United
States’ inmates are in need of substance abuse
treatment, which is a far more effective means of
handling drug offenders.
Public health policies as top priority

16. Congress has appropriated $2.4 billion to
fight the cartels, as partof the security coop-
eration agreement between the US and
Mexican governments. That money supports
a failed war in which tens of thousands have
been killed and thousands more tortured.
The war in Mexico
100,000+ Number of people killed in
Mexico's drug war since 2006

17. SOURCES
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/13/ap-impact-years-trillion-war-drugs-failed-meet-goals/
http://www.thehouseilivein.org/get-involved/drug-war-today/
http://ssdp.org/assets/2012/07/drug-wars-infographic-600x18601.jpeg
http://www.vox.com/cards/war-on-drugs-marijuana-cocaine-heroin-meth/drug-war-law-enforcement
-police-militarization-privacy
http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-war-statistics
http://drug-war.us/
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/5-nobel-prize-economists-call-end-failed-war-drugs
http://billmoyers.com/2015/03/27/can-say-blowback-spanish/
READ OUR BLOG