Is Decriminalization the answer?

The United States and Mexico have been fighting a war on drugs by targeting and punishing the suppliers and consumers; after decades of ineffective results, they should consider other approaches. My research question looks at the inefficiency of the criminalization of drugs in the United States, the devastating effects it has had for Mexico, and the possibility that decriminalizing drugs has to stop both wars. This issue of decriminalization has been debated for some time, but not enough has been done to look at the potential it has to help Mexico end the violence it currently faces. I will be looking at the history of drug criminalization in the United States, how Mexican citizens have been affected by having cartels fight over a multi billion dollar market across the border and the results that Portugal has had since it decriminalized drugs in 2001. This will hopefully allow us to see inefficient criminalizing drugs has been and the potential positive effects that decriminalization can have for Mexico and the United States. This research aims to break down the negative stigma towards drugs that only result in more people behind bars and more people overdosing.

The sources I use for this research were chosen to highlight the suffering of the Mexican people due to drug cartels, and the growing number of drug addicts and prisoners in the United States. I used the colleges database to find most of these sources. I wanted to use a mixture of scholarly articles as well as first hand accounts which together will give me a well rounded analysis that reflect the emotional and historical significance of this issue.