del Valle, Traffic

I think the war on drugs is winnable on the political level only. If drugs were legalized and regulated, the government would thrive on the profits. However, even if it were legalized, the individual and social levels would still be negatively affected. Although drugs would be regulated through the government, people would still be selling them on the streets, therefore, street crimes would still happen, and individuals who’s loved ones are lost in this would still be affected, and, even if legalized, people would still run the risk of becoming addicting, which is another way it would affect the individual. Also, there would still be gangs involved in selling drugs on the streets, which would mean there would still be a push to join these gangs in certain societies.

Oria, Traffic

It is almost impossible to win a war on drugs on a political or social level. The only somewhat winnable war on drugs is on a personal level, but even then it is still hard. If you look at the movie, it is clear that even on a personal level it is hard to win. Once someone becomes addicted to drugs it is hard to get off of them, especially when you are addict to the drugs that the girl was using. Those were some seriously hard drugs that she was on. When she was put in rehab, she runs away the first time. She ends up sleeping with her dealer to get drugs. Her father tries to keep everything under control but it is next to impossible to control someone else’s actions. One only has control over their actions. If a person does not want to stop using drugs, then there are only two options: either put them in jail or put them in rehab. Then again you can just leave them be and allow themselves to ruin their own lives. In all honesty I think that the war on drugs is next to impossible to win. People are going to do whatever it is they want to do. You can try to retrain them and put them in rehab but if there is a will, there is a way. So if someone wants drugs they are going to find a way to get them. This mentality goes both ways though. If an addict is willing enough to quick drugs, then all hope is not lost, it can be done.

Roulakis - Traffic

The Wakefield family is a wealthy family that lives in Ohio. This family includes a prominent father figure who is not only a judge, but now the head of the President's Office of National Drug Control. Though this movie is about drug trafficking, it shows how and why drugs are a part of each character's life. Robert Wakefield's daughter, Caroline, is sixteen years old, at the top of her class, and an honor student. Throughout the film we slowly see how her experimentation with drugs turns into an addiction and eventually leads her on a path that could destroy her life. Her addiction, and her father's persistence to stop the drug cartel's in Mexico end up impacting each other's lives more than they could imagine.

Robert Wakefield believes that he can win the war on drugs on both a political and social level. He speaks to the public, travels around the country and even to Mexico to meet with important political figures that could help him "win" this war. However, he never looks at his own home and how what he really needs to do is look at how drugs are effecting him and his family on an individual level. In the end, he realizes that it is the only way that he can win the war that's almost impossible to stop. He was so busy trying to stop all these powerful and corrupt people, that he and his wife did not even realize how bad their daughter's addiction to cocaine was getting. Eventually, at the end of the movie when Wakefield is giving a speech for the press at the White House, he realizes that a war on drugs was actually in his own home, and that he couldn't contribute anything to his country before helping his own family. During Caroline's second time in rehab, the audience can actually tell that she is willing to get better and is happy that she is getting help. After she gives a touching speech the camera falls onto her father who is asked to respond to her speech and he says, "My name is Robert. And my wife, Barbara and I are here to support our daughter Caroline. And we're here to listen." This is when I believe the Wakefield family has won the war on drugs - on an individual level.

Cassimere; Traffic

The War on Drugs is not winnable on any level. If enough people want to have access to something, there are people willing to provide it for them in order to make a profit, regardless of the legal consequences or legal status of the product. The people who run the drug cartels that smuggle drugs across the American border for distribution only care about the money they will be making from it. An example of this in the movie would be the Mexican Military General Salazar, who was using his position in the military to aid his drug trade. If someone has a strong addiction to a substance, they will do anything it takes to get it. This is especially apparent in the movie Traffic when Caroline runs away from rehab and is sleeping around with drug dealers, most likely in exchange for drugs. She essentially gives up her whole life, friends, family, and school, so that she can lie around and get high all day. Of course in the end, she joins a support group and gets clean, but in reality that doesn’t happen for most people who have serious drug problems. As far as the social level goes, if there are drugs out there, at least some people will try them and most likely influence other to do so as well. There will always be groups of teenagers who experiment with drugs, and drug dealers to push drugs on them. The War on Drugs will most likely never be won.

Armentor Traffic

The war on drugs is a political crusade that initially had good intentions, but with years of mismanagement and overspending translating to little results, the war has now turned into a useless and dangerous mess. The war on drugs has been lost, this verdict being apparent a number of years ago. Experimentation with Marijuana in America is at an all-time high; and while the government attempts to eliminate the supply of drugs by burning crops and raiding medical marijuana dispensaries, the truth of the matter remains that the accessibility of these drugs has completely undermined the governments futile attempts. Of the more henious attempts by the government to quell drug usage is this issue of raiding medical marijuana dispensaries. To hassle sick people, take their medicine, then put them in jail is the epitome of disgrace that this war has become. One of the biggest problems with the war on drugs is that although many consider the war a complete failure, the DEA has yet to change its message on the issue. Instead of trying new ways to combat drug usage like setting up health clinics or taxing the products, their mantra of "Drugs are bad, and we're gunna arrest you" has been their guideline.

Another big problem with the war on drugs is that it assumes that everyone involved, dealer or consumer, is a criminal. But the reality of the issue is that people turn to selling drugs out of necessity. This statement is supported during the scene where Robert Wakefield and Seth are prowling around the ghetto looking for Caroline. Seth tells Robert that the low incomes of people in the slums forces them to turn to the drug trade in order to make quick money to support their families. But the War on Drugs and the big whigs who run it fail to see this side of the story. They remain obssessed with the initial notion that drugs should be eliminated from society. With that said, their task is a futile one. The availability of drugs is in no way a reflection of the governments efforts to stop it. Already trillions of dollars have been spent on this unsuccessful and misguided war, a war that either needs to be halted or undergoe major redirection.