Affirmative
Written by Stephen Cavallaro

The “war on drugs”: a frivolous campaign waged by the U.S. government in order to promote the prohibition of illicit drugs and end the drug trade through foreign military aid and military intervention. This skirmish has incurred trillions in national debt and has sacrificed the lives of the innocent since 1970, and while the government and left-winged media attempts to have the masses believe that the “war” is still relevant, it is not.

The “war on drugs” no longer exists. The end was marked by a series of pro-drug legislation that swept the U.S. and Latin America last year. The people of Colorado and Washington voted in favor of Marijuana legalization, Californians voted in favor of reforming the “three strikes” law and Uruguay ended prohibition on Marijuana while presidents across Latin America initiated a call to end the “war on drugs.”

Politicians in both the U.S. and Mexico have used the war’s numerous flaws as major tenants of their political platforms. These stances have gained international success amongst voters. A poll conducted by Gallup in late 2012 indicated that 48% of Americans were in favor of Marijuana legalization. Another poll, released early last month, illustrated that drug presence in neighborhoods in Mexico have significantly declined.

Americans and Mexicans have both been beaten into economic and political exhaustion by the continuation of the campaign. The people are jaded by the life, freedom and income being wasted so that this onset can continue, when they in fact support what the government is fighting. While the aggression has yet to completely subside, a continuous rise in pro-drug supporters each year proves that the “war” has already been lost.

Rebuttal
Written by Veronica Dominicis

The drug war is not over.  According to the Mexican public safety secretary, drug cartels make $64.34 billion annually from United States’ users alone.

Those who watched the news regularly for the past couple of years remember the recycled images of drug lords smuggling large white cubes and the like across the border on infrared images. The news would cover the border checkpoint between the Mexican and U.S. border, showing images of massive amounts of drugs stacked on top of each other.

The times have gotten better, but have not stopped the war on drugs.

Janet Napolitano, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary said in an early February interview with USA Today that although the borders are easing up, it is not the end of the war–especially the violence caused by drug cartels.

Drug cartel leaders are not letting up just because security has grown stronger on the U.S. and Mexico border. Drug leaders are now injecting the U.S. with cartel members as a way to complete transactions within the U.S. without the middle man.

A recent case of this is in Chicago, where drug cartels from Mexico are no longer relying on the border as a way to process drugs. Cocaine, marijuana, heroin and violence are now prevalent in the Chicago area because of one Mexican drug lord who has never set foot inside the city.

The Mexican and U.S. drug war is not over. If anything it is getting worse and Chicago is one of the first cities to experience a new and more intense form of the war. The war is lessened at the border, yes, but drug cartels are now implanting their personnel into U.S. cities and staying—meaning that they will not only involve U.S. drug users, but regular people in their everyday lives.