After Richard Nixon declared drug abuse was Public Enemy No. 1 in 1971, American began a war against these evil substances. All we see today is the aftermath of this war, which has cost billions to overcrowd our prisons with racial minorities, a war that has brought the rise of international gangs that overpower governments, a war that has failed with the continuously increasing drug use year by year.

Nixon claimed drug abuse was Public Enemy No. 1, so all drug users are obviously ruthless criminals who allow our No. 1 enemy to run rampant through our society, right? Wrong. The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s website describes drug use as a “chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use.” Does someone with a chronic brain disease deserve to be thrown in prison? Most people would say it was their choice to take drugs, so they deserve the consequences, but in reality does anyone choose a life of hopeless addiction or do they choose an escape from a horrible reality? This is why the War on Drugs boggles my mind.

Drug addicts are people. This is a fact that I think is commonly overlooked by the supporters of drug war. How could you feel anything but pity for a lifeless man whose only joy is the injection of a needle or the exhalation of smoke?

I shed a tear for those who never found comfort in their mother’s arms yet found it in a chemical powder. I offer my hand to anyone who is falling into the deep, dark abyss of drug addiction. Who would allow anyone of these hopeless souls to delve any deeper into emptiness, as opposed to showing them what can truly fulfill their lives? For this reason, I loathe the imprisonment of addicts.

I imagine a majority of drug addicts arrive at their status by way of a horrible life situation and not in search of a “better high.” For this reason, I believe imprisonment of addicts only exacerbates the problems of their lives and would lead most drug addicts right back to their specific substance, which is usually available inside of the prison. And if the addict is so lucky to get out of prison with a broader view of life and is determined to be a functioning member of society, his task will be made difficult with a rap sheet exposing his past flaws. Hopefully the fact that no one wants to hire the combination of an ex-addict and ex-convict doesn’t upset the fragile addict to the point of relapse.

I understand drug addicts have more dangerous tendencies than non-drug addicts, however I believe there has to be a better solution to the problem of drug abuse in the United States and the rest of the world. I must disagree with Nixon, I don’t find America’s No. 1 enemy to be drug abuse, but I find it in ideas that put our society to shame such as racism, sexism and prejudice. Issues such as these are dividing the human race right now, so why are we so focused on drugs? What if we spent billions to fix other problems?

Pedro Acosta is a Medill freshman. He can be reached at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].