Annotated Bibliographies

1. Drug Policy Alliance. "Effectiveness of the War on Drugs". Drug Policy Alliance. 11/10/08 .

This article focuses on the government's standings that we are not winning the war on drugs, that the drug war fueled America's prison boom, the public health costs of the drug war, how the drug war impacts American youth negatively educationally, and failed prevention strategies.

It was not the most beneficial article, but gave a good summary of all of the main dynamics of the war. It was somewhat repetitive to the information I already had learned. The information was reliable and presented in a rather objective way.

This was helpful in helping me understand how the war on drugs has effected America in a lot of different aspects. It helped shape my argument because it showed that this is a bigger problem than it first seems because drug use effects a lot of areas. It did not change how I think that the war on drugs is not progressing.

2. Feldman, Charles. "America's 'War on Drugs' reduces users, but supply keeps coming". CNN. 09/17/08

This article discusses how drugs have increased and we should keep trying to fight the war on drugs because it has been somewhat successful. Although drugs are not eliminated they are being used less and this is a positive step towards ending drug abuse. It argues that we should keep fighting and there are battles yet to be fought.

It was useful to bring controversy to the topic and my research topic because it is the opposite of a lot of my sources. It provided statics that show the decrease in drug use in America. Coming from one of America's largest new stations, the information is very reliable. The source is biased, taking the side that we should keep fighting the war on drugs.

This source was helpful in opening my eyes to the possibility that we can win the war. It gave me a greater understanding of the complexity of the issue. It did not help me shape my argument, other than proving that the successes and decreases in drugs is very minimal.


3. Gleason, Chistina . "Financial Cost of the War on Drugs". Suite 101. 11/10/08 .

This article talks about how much money is being spent on the war against drugs. It covers all the financial aspects of the war. It includes how much money it takes to keep an inmate in jail who has been convicted of using illegal drugs, providing and paying police officers with drug units, and other programs such as DARE. This article provides statics of the money spent since Reagan was in office and how it has increased over the years.

This was a useful source because it is the only one of my sources that provides information about the financial dynamics of the war. The information is reliable and is a genuine source with credible references cited. This article is biased, saying that spending this amount of money is useless since there has been little progress to end the war on drugs.

Gleason's article was helpful and corresponded directly with my topic. It helped shape my opinion on my topic after I read how much money was being wasted on trying to prevent using drugs. This was used in my research project because it gave concrete facts and a dollar value to the unproductive war against drugs.

4. "The War on Drugs Can Be Won." Alfonse D'Amato.

Current Controversies: Drug Trafficking. Ed. Karin L. Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1991.

D'Amato states in this article that the war against drugs can be won only if we attack it at every level of the Federal, state, and local government and by every citizen in every community across the country. It is a war that is not concerned with borders and overflows from country to country. Colombia has long been a drug provider to the U.S. and when we stop sending money there the flow of drugs should decrease.

This source sheds light on the positive side of the issue, that it is a matter of wanting to stop the use of drugs, and when that occurs we will become a drug free society. It cited many references and was a reliable source. It was presented in a biased manner and I was able to use this in my research to show it can be won even though it will not be easy.

This source was not very helpful as it was not very focused on the problems in America, but more of Colombia. It made me think about how the drug trafficking may be at the core of drug abuse in America. It did change my perspective on my topic because it helped me realize that if we control drug trafficking first we can demolish the war within our own borders.

5. "The War on Drugs Cannot Be Won." Doniphan Blair.

Current Controversies: Drug Trafficking. Ed. Karin L. Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1991

In this article the issue that even if the U.S. does get all the addicts and dealers off the streets it is going to cost the U.S. a bunch of money to keep them incarcerated. Jail is not therapy for addicts and when released from jail the problem will continue and may even worsen, as the person no longer has a job, supportive family and friends and is in an unstable living condition which makes them vulnerable to drug use. It states that the person using drugs does not take responsibility and is in denial of their conditions. The war is lost, funding that does not correct the problem is failure.

This information was useful because it supported my argument that this war is a lost cause and wasting tax payers money and a different approach is necessary. This article talks about the peoples problems versus the nations problems and in that way is different from all my other sources. It was written by the same author of "The War Can Be Won", and had credible sources and references to back up his argument.

This article was helpful because it backed up my argument. It helped solidify my argument because it talked about try to sober up the addicts rather than spending money to incarcerate them which is not fixing the problem, but making it worse as the government spends more money. This did not change how I feel about my topic, it has fueled my argument and further made me believe this war is a lost cause.