Palmer Traffic

There is a constant debate about the "war on drugs" and its effectiveness. In my opinion, the war on drugs is a useless effort on the individual, social, and political levels. The scene that best illustrates this idea is near the end of the film when Eddie Ruiz is talking with Montel about what little will be accomplished by his testimony.

In this scene, Eddie tells Montel that his efforts are "futile". He suggested a scenario that involved his drugs going through. In this scenario, people would have "got high who are getting high anyway" and Montel's partner would still be alive. To close out his speech, Eddie says that the only reason the police were able to get to him is because they were tipped off by another cartel. This scene show how vast the drug industry is. It is inexorable.

On the individual level, a war on drugs is someone's personal decision. It is that person's choice whether or not to use drugs. The war on drugs will have both a direct and indirect effect on the individual. The direct effect is the person will be imprisoned or receive some type of punishment for using drugs. Indirectly, it will possibly prolong the time it takes for someone to come into initial contact with drugs. However, if a person wants it bad enough, they will find it.

Regarding the social level, the war on drugs creates a culture of taboo regarding drugs. It heightens drugs' exposure and indirectly entices people, especially youth, to try drugs. Whether or not the war is winnable is a question that has multiple answers. In my opinion, it cannot be won. The drug industry it massive. Once on piece has been taken out, there are multiple replacements to fill the void. In addition, drugs is not limited to geographic or demographic borders. The Wakefield story is the prime example of this. Drugs has become integrated into society. Finally, the war on drugs seems to be a political rallying point. Essentially, it is one of the many things that politicians promise and never fulfill.