Module 3: Assignment 1

Ellen Wetli
Module 3: Metaphor as Action
Assignment 1
Laura Mandell

In today’s society, we are all well aware of the prison overload problems. For example, in New Orleans during 2004, only 7% of the people arrested were sent to jail (From a NOPD survey in The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley). Hundreds of thousands of murderers every year are allowed to walk free due to the fact that there just isn’t enough room for everyone. The United States needs to develop alternative solutions. If we treat the war on drugs as an actual war, then we’ll be strategically hunting down drug lords and bombing meth labs. Even after we have successfully destroyed every ounce of drug in the United States, thousands will still be addicted. It’s just like taking a donut away from a hungry kid. Just because the donut is gone doesn’t mean his/her hunger is. The Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act, or Proposition 36 encourages us to treat drug addiction as a medical disease, which in fact it is. This act provides a drug rehabilitation alternative to convicted drug addicts who are destined to end up behind bars. Face it, drug addiction usually increases when a person is admitted into prison. Peer pressure for one; everyone is already doing it. Also there seems to be no reason not to. A person is on his/her own for what could be a very long time and a little snort can actually make the upcoming years more bearable. Eventually when these people get out, their drug addiction has not gone away, and it is quite likely that they will end up right back in prison for possession again. In California under the new act, “the population of drug users behind bars for possession diminished by 30%” (Bernstein, Nell. “The war off drugs”). So why not end this vicious cycle with Proposition 36?
Of course, for our money hungry government, this new act is saving millions of dollars each year. A war usually costs quite a bit and forces the government to reduce spending on programs that improve America. This act does not do that, so that provides another example of why the metaphor “war on drugs” is not the best choice. “California saved $95 million the first year it enforced Proposition 36” (Bernstein, Nell. “The war off drugs”). Just imagine how much money it would save if the entire United States adopted this proposition. Then the government could focus more on improving the nation rather than housing its criminals.
The war metaphor actually portrays drug addicts as enemies of the nation who need to be punished, when in reality, they need saved. We cannot treat these drug addicts as prisoners of war because they are our people. Their lives affect the lives of hundreds of other citizens of the United States, including thousands of young children; We need to improve society, not hinder it. Picture yourself back in grade school. The students who were the slowest in understanding a concept were always the ones that received the most help. They were not banished to the back of the room and forgotten. They were brought to the front and encouraged to keep trying. We need to treat the drug addicts of the nation like slow children rather than “hostel enemies”. To improve their lives, they need a little help from us. They need to be put in hospitals where they can get the assistance they need. Then they can eventually enter society again as productive, drug-free citizens.