ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


Social Studies Videos 51 videos

GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government
39794 Views

GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government

John Hawkins
255 Views

John Hawkins was may have been the most interesting man in the world. He doesn’t always hijack ships, but when he does... he prefers for them to...

Betty Friedan
650 Views

Betty Frieden was one of the leading influences (arguably the starting one) in women's rights. She argued for gender equality everywhere— from th...

See All

War on Drugs 2767 Views


Share It!


Description:

For years, the government has tried to deal with drugs in the United States. Unfortunately, many historians agree that the War on Drugs was great in theory...but a failure in reality. Now, states are taking a new approach to drugs: if we legalize it and tax it, will that solve the problem? What say you, Shmoopers?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:08

War on Drugs, from Shmoop

00:11

This is what cocaine can do to a house. This is what heroin can do to a face.

00:16

This is what marijuana can do to a car.

00:20

Regardless of what you hear in the movies, drugs are a real problem in America,

00:23

and an even bigger problem to solve.

00:25

This is what happens to innocent people when drug addicts get behind the wheel of a car.

00:29

Or use a gun to steal money for drugs.

00:32

Or tear a family apart.

00:33

So we can't do "nothing." Innocent people deserve more than "nothing."

00:38

The government has been trying to figure out what's better than nothing for years.

00:42

They've waged a three trillion dollar war.

00:44

Richard Nixon labeled drugs as "public enemy number one"

00:49

Nixon thought that the problem was drugs coming from Mexico.

00:52

So he ordered all traffic at the border to be invasively searched.

00:56

This practice violated a few civil liberties

01:01

And created a foreign policy nightmare with our friends south of the border,

01:04

So this approach was, more or less, a failure. Then Nixon focused on treatment for addicts,

01:10

Unfortunately drug use continued to rise. Then the Reagans came along,

01:14

And Nancy said the solution to drugs was -

01:17

"Just Say No." Easy. Piece o' cake.

01:20

For some reason, this technique didn't solve the problem...

01:23

Ronald Reagan created a law that made prison mandatory for anyone caught selling drugs.

01:27

The result?

01:29

Lots of dealers in jail.

01:30

Yet still lots of drugs on the Street.

01:33

Have we tried everything?

01:34

Is this a social problem?

01:36

Are we too uptight?

01:37

What do you think we should do?

01:39

What if we legalize drugs and then tax them?

01:41

Would this... "fix things?"

01:43

Nothing.

01:44

Doing "Nothing" is not an option.

01:47

Shmoop amongst yourselves.

Related Videos

Sylvia Plath: Mother of the Modern Blog
693 Views

The concept of using a Facebook profile as a personal diary began with Sylvia Plath. Sorry, Martha, but we really don't need to know that you had o...

Renewable Energy
265 Views

Ready for your quiz on wind turbines and solar cells? For all of you who have been studying up on how to use vegetable oil as an energy source over...

How Power Plants Work
205 Views

Ever wonder how all of your iPhones, Kindles, Xboxes, and laptops get their power? No? Well we are going to tell you anyway, sassy pants.

GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government
39794 Views

GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government

McCarthyism
13456 Views

Everything you ever needed to know about the Red Scare. Well, as much as would fit in one video, at least.