Although drug use has been part of American life since the 19th century, it did not come into great prominence until the 1960s. At that time, the use of LSD, marijuana, and a variety of hard drugs became associated with the young and the disaffected. Throughout the 1970s, the use of illicit drugs continued to increase; among young people it became a form of protest and defiance. By the 1980s, drugs were almost a part of the American mainstream. As they became more widely accepted, so too spread the damage wrought by their effects. The costs both in terms human suffering and economic loss are incalculable. Thus far, the U.S. government has spent billions of dollars trying to combat this scourge. Without question, drugs such as quaaludes, amphetamines, angel dust, and cocaine, should be illegal. With marijuana, however, the issue remains controversial. There are still some who call for legalization of the drug for medical purposes. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that it may be useful for treating patients with certain medical disorders. Unfortunately, however, there are few well controlled studies that document either marijuana smoking's risks or benefits.
The disruption of American life due to trafficking in illegal drugs has been enormous; it has affected small towns as well as large metropolitan areas. Millions have become chemically dependent. Furthermore, the use of drugs often leads to addiction, which in turn leads to high rates of debilitating illness, crime, and even death. Despite the "war on drugs" waged by both the Reagan and Bush administrations, chemical addiction remains a very serious problem. Perhaps even worse than the violence and ruined lives of the traffickers and the severely addicted, is the insidious damage drugs have wreaked on untold numbers of "seemingly" healthy lives. The broken families, the unrealized potential, and the general misery inflicted on people who think that th...