THE WAR ON DRUGS

Posted on by

COMMON STREET DRUGS

The most common street drugs are cocaine, in either powder or crystal form, heroin, methamphetamine, prescription drugs and ecstasy. There are a myriad of other drugs out there but these are the ones we see most often in the criminal justice system. (See images below)

According to one study, the war on drugs is costing us about $500 per second. That is not a typo – per second. The way we choose to enforce these laws results in mass incarceration of certain segments of our society and does little to stem the use or sale of illicit drugs. Currently there are 2 million citizens in metal cages in the United States, of those some studies estimate that 25% of them are there for non-violent drug offenses.

THE HOUSE I LIVE IN

A film by Eugene Jarecki explores the failure of the war on drugs and the devastating consequences these laws have had on families and whole segments of society. I highly recommend this film for anyone who wants to truly understand why we have spent billions on this “war” and have nothing to show for it. Below is the trailer for this film: please note some of the images in the trailer are graphic.

 

PLEASE SEE THE RESOURCE PAGE TO GET YOUR OWN COPY OF THIS FILM

 

 

  Powder_Cocaine1POWDER COCAINE

Derived from the Cocoa leaf, powder cocaine sells for about $100 per gram. Its high lasts approximately 1 hour per hit and it became popular in the 1970’s era of dance clubs and high society parties.

 

Crack_CocaineCRACK

Crack is derived from powder cocaine. It sells for about $2 to $10 per rock. The high is much more intense than powder cocaine, but the effects last around 30 minutes.

 

 

Powder_Meth

METHAMPHETAMINE

Meth is a purely synthetic drug, not derived from any natural or plant based substance, it is purely chemical. It sells for approximately $25 for a 1/4 gram. (these are rough estimates as prices and quality vary throughout the country).

 

tar_heroinHEROIN

Heroin is derived from the poppy plant. A hit can cost anywhere from $10-$20. I have had clients tell me that as a daily user their habit costs them between $150-$200 per day.

 

 

These statistics and images are offered to help explain what drugs we are talking about when we speak of the war on drugs and the estimates of cost are based on interviews with clients, other attorney and reference materials.