FROM CRIMINALIZATION TO REHABILITATION: Abandoning “The War on Drugs” THESIS EDIT | Page 9

threats to public safety.” The America Civil Liberties Union writes that, “today, drug-law
enforcement consumes more than half of all police resources nationwide, resources that could be
better spent fighting violent crimes like rape, assault and robbery.”
UNDERSTANDING ADDICTION
Before I continue my discussion, I kindly ask my audience to join me in setting aside the
many preconceived notions and strongly instilled stigmas we have been taught to believe about
this topic. Johann Hari, author of “Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on
Drugs” wrote in January of 2015 in a Huffington Post article that, “almost everything we have
been told about addiction is wrong -- and there is a very different story waiting for us, if only
we are ready to hear it.” Following my year spent researching this topic, I must agree. There is
plenty of evidence today to suggest that new solutions in dealing with addiction, both on a
societal (social activism) and legislative level, are available to us. Letting go of old, hardened
ideas can be difficult, and I sympathize with the frustration that comes along with such a task.
However, as Nietzsche wrote, “You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame; how
could you rise anew if you have not first become ashes!”
As common sense would dictate, it is imperative that we first understand the nature of a
problem before we try to solve it. In the case of addiction, understanding it first requires
acknowledging what it is not, and letting go of the false ideas we have come to believe. People in
general have a very skewed perception of addiction. While there are many misconceptions worth
unraveling, I will discuss the one I find most significant to our perspective as law and policy
makers.
The most widely held misconception I want to point out is the idea that addiction is a
choice. This is the idea that if the addict really wanted to, they could just stop using drugs and