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Kurzgesagt (In a Nutshell), Why The War on Drugs Is a Huge Failure

Why The War on Drugs Is a Huge Failure

Over 40 years ago, US President Richard Nixon

declared drug abuse public enemy number one,

starting an unprecedented global campaign, the War on Drugs.

Today, the numbers are in.

The War on Drugs is a huge failure, with devastating unintended consequences.

It led to mass incarceration in the US;

to corruption, political destabilization, and violence

in Latin America, Asia, and Africa;

to systemic human rights abuses across the world.

It negatively affected the lives of millions of people.

All of this while we waste billions of dollars every year

only to create and fuel powerful drug cartels

while the goal of the War on Drugs seems less achievable than ever:

a world without drugs.

How could this happen?

The core strategy of the War on Drugs is “no drugs, no problems”.

So almost all of the efforts in the last few decades

have been focused on eradicating the supply of drugs

and incarcerating drug traffickers.

But this ignores the most fundamental of market forces,

supply and demand.

If you reduce the supply of anything without reducing the demand first,

its price goes up.

This might lower sales for many products, but not for drugs.

The drugs market is not price-sensitive.

Drugs will be consumed no matter what they cost.

So the effect is to encourage production of more drugs and

recruitment of more traffickers, which increases availability.

This is also known as the balloon effect: even if drug production or

a major supply route is destroyed, the supply for the end user is not reduced.

A perfect example of this is crystal meth.

The US Government tried to stop its production

by strictly regulating the sale of chemicals used to manufacture the drug.

This forced big meth producers out of business,

but the unintended consequences were that thousands of small-scale operations

started all over the country, mostly in small towns and rural communities,

using chemicals that weren't regulated.

In response to this, some US states wanted to reduce the supply of home-grown meth

by regulating even more chemicals,

which reduced small-scale meth production drastically.

But the supply of meth still stayed the same.

Mexican drug cartels immediately took over and opened big production operations.

Their meth was even better than it was before,

and they had lots of experience in smuggling.

So all these efforts made meth production more professional,

the drug more potent, while supply wasn't reduced at all.

You can't win this war on the supply side.

Not only are drugs widely available, demand unbroken,

and some drugs purer than in the past, with a budget of around $30 billion,

the US Drug Enforcement Agency has an efficiency rate of less than 1%

when it comes to stopping the flow of drugs into the US

and inside the US.

For many minors around the world, it's as easy to get illegal drugs as alcohol.

But it doesn't stop here.

Prohibition may prevent a certain amount of people from taking drugs,

but in the process it causes huge damage to society as a whole.

Many of the problems we associate with drug use

are actually caused by the war against them.

For example, prohibition makes drugs stronger.

The more potent drugs you can store in as little space as possible,

the more profit you'll make.

It was the same during alcohol prohibition,

which led to an increased consumption of strong liquor over beer.

The prohibition of drugs also led to more violence and murders around the world.

Gangs and cartels have no access to the legal system to settle disputes,

so they use violence.

This led to an ever-increasing spiral of brutality.

According to some estimates, the homicide rate in the US

is 25–75% higher because of the War on Drugs.

And in Mexico, the country on the frontline,

an estimated 164,000 have been murdered between 2007 and 2014,

more people than in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq

in the same period, combined.

But where the War on Drugs might do the most damage to society

is the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders.

For example, the United States,

one of the driving forces of the War on Drugs,

has 5% of the world's total population, but 25% of the world's prison population,

largely due to the harsh punishments and mandatory minimums.

Minorities suffer because of this especially.

African Americans make up 40% of all US prison inmates.

And while white kids are more likely to abuse drugs,

black kids are 10 times more likely to get arrested for drug offenses.

OK, but is there actually something different we could do?

Is there a way out of this mess?

In the 1980s, Switzerland experienced

a public health crisis related to heroin use.

HIV rates skyrocketed and street crime became a problem.

Swiss authorities tried a new strategy: harm reduction.

They opened free heroin maintenance centers,

where addicts would be treated and stabilized.

Here, people would be given free heroin of high quality,

they would get clean needles and have access to safe injection rooms,

showers, beds, and medical supervision.

Social workers help them find housing and deal with other problems in their lives.

The results were a sharp drop in drug-related crime

and two thirds of the people in the centers got regular jobs,

because now they could focus on getting better

instead of financing their addiction.

Today, over 70% of all heroin addicts in Switzerland receive treatment.

HIV infections have dropped drastically.

Deaths from heroin overdoses have dropped by 50%.

And drug-related street sex work and crime has been reduced enormously.

So there are methods that are not only way cheaper,

but also actually work, instead of creating more problems.

Drug prohibition led to a system that bulldozes human rights,

costs vast sums of money, and creates a lot of human misery,

all in pursuit of an unobtainable goal.

After 40 years of fighting, it's time to finally end the War on Drugs

and move on to something better.

This video was supported by the Open Society Foundations

and by viewer donations on Patreon.

If you want to learn more about how you can influence drug policy,

check out the Stop the Harm campaign.

We finally have some merchandise!

If you want your own Kurzgesagt poster, T-shirt, mug,

or stickers of little monsters,

you can get them now at the DFTBA store!

Subtitles by the Amara.org community

Learn languages from TV shows, movies, news, articles and more! Try LingQ for FREE

Why The War on Drugs Is a Huge Failure Warum||||||||großer Fehlschlag Warum der Krieg gegen Drogen ein riesiger Misserfolg ist Por qué la guerra contra las drogas es un gran fracaso Pourquoi la guerre contre la drogue est un échec retentissant Perché la guerra alla droga è un enorme fallimento 薬物戦争はなぜ大失敗なのか? Kodėl karas su narkotikais yra didžiulė nesėkmė Waarom de oorlog tegen drugs een enorme mislukking is Dlaczego wojna z narkotykami jest wielką porażką? Porque é que a guerra contra a droga é um enorme fracasso Почему война с наркотиками потерпела огромный провал Uyuşturucuya Karşı Savaş Neden Büyük Bir Başarısızlık Чому війна з наркотиками - це величезний провал 为什么禁毒战争是巨大的失败 為什麼禁毒戰爭是巨大的失敗

Over 40 years ago, US President Richard Nixon |||||Richard Nixon|Nixon ||||||ニクソン大統領 40 yılı aşkın bir süre önce, ABD Başkanı Richard Nixon

declared drug abuse public enemy number one, erklärte||Drogenmissbrauch|||| erklärte den Drogenmissbrauch zum Staatsfeind Nummer eins, declarado inimigo público número um do abuso de drogas, uyuşturucu bağımlılığını bir numaralı halk düşmanı ilan etti,

starting an unprecedented global campaign, the War on Drugs. ||ohnegleichen|||||| iniciando uma campanha global sem precedentes, a Guerra às Drogas. eşi benzeri görülmemiş küresel bir kampanya başlattı, Uyuşturucuyla Savaş.

Today, the numbers are in. Heute|die||| Hoje, os números estão em alta. Сегодня получены цифры. Bugün, rakamlar geldi.

The War on Drugs is a huge failure, with devastating unintended consequences. ||||||||||unbeabsichtigte| La guerre contre la drogue est un échec retentissant, dont les conséquences involontaires sont dévastatrices. A Guerra às Drogas é um grande fracasso, com consequências inesperadas devastadoras. Uyuşturucuya Karşı Savaş, istenmeyen yıkıcı sonuçları olan büyük bir başarısızlıktır.

It led to mass incarceration in the US; ||||Masseninhaftierung||| ||||大量投獄||| Isso levou ao encarceramento em massa nos EUA; ABD'de kitlesel hapsetmeye yol açtı;

to corruption, political destabilization, and violence |||动荡|| |Korruption||Destabilisierung||Gewalt |||政治的不安定化||

in Latin America, Asia, and Africa;

to systemic human rights abuses across the world. |systematisch|||Missbräuche||| |体系的|||||| aos abusos sistêmicos dos direitos humanos em todo o mundo. dünya genelindeki sistematik insan hakları ihlallerine karşı.

It negatively affected the lives of millions of people. |negativ|beeinflusste|||||| Milyonlarca insanın hayatını olumsuz etkiledi.

All of this while we waste billions of dollars every year Tout cela alors que nous gaspillons des milliards de dollars chaque année И все это при том, что мы ежегодно тратим миллиарды долларов впустую Tüm bunlar olurken biz her yıl milyarlarca dolar harcıyoruz

only to create and fuel powerful drug cartels |||||||贩毒集团 |||||||Drogenkartelle |||||||麻薬カルテル uniquement pour créer et alimenter de puissants cartels de la drogue apenas para criar e alimentar poderosos cartéis de drogas

while the goal of the War on Drugs seems less achievable than ever: ||||||||||可实现的|| ||||||||||erreichbar|| ||||||||||達成可能な|| tandis que l'objectif de la guerre contre la drogue semble moins réalisable que jamais : enquanto o objetivo da Guerra às Drogas parece menos alcançável do que nunca:

a world without drugs. un monde sans drogue.

How could this happen? Comment cela a-t-il pu se produire ? Bu nasıl olabilir?

The core strategy of the War on Drugs is “no drugs, no problems”. |Kernstrategie||||||||||| A estratégia central da Guerra às Drogas é “sem drogas, sem problemas”. Uyuşturucuyla Savaş'ın temel stratejisi "uyuşturucu yoksa sorun da yok "tur.

So almost all of the efforts in the last few decades |||||Bemühungen||||| Yani son birkaç on yıldaki çabaların neredeyse tamamı

have been focused on eradicating the supply of drugs ||||auszurotten|||| ||||撲滅|||| têm se concentrado em erradicar o fornecimento de drogas uyuşturucu arzını ortadan kaldırmaya odaklanmıştır.

and incarcerating drug traffickers. |监禁||毒贩 |und inhaftieren von Drogenhändlern||Drogenhändler |投獄|| e prender traficantes de drogas.

But this ignores the most fundamental of market forces, ||ignoriert|||||| ||無視する|||||| Mas isso ignora a mais fundamental das forças de mercado, Ancak bu, piyasa güçlerinin en temelini göz ardı etmektedir,

supply and demand. oferta e procura. arz ve talep.

If you reduce the supply of anything without reducing the demand first, Önce talebi azaltmadan herhangi bir şeyin arzını azaltırsanız,

its price goes up. fiyatı artar.

This might lower sales for many products, but not for drugs. Cela pourrait faire baisser les ventes de nombreux produits, mais pas celles des médicaments. Bu durum birçok ürün için satışları düşürebilir ancak ilaçlar için böyle bir durum söz konusu değildir.

The drugs market is not price-sensitive. O mercado de medicamentos não é sensível ao preço. İlaç piyasası fiyata duyarlı değildir.

Drugs will be consumed no matter what they cost. Uyuşturucular ne pahasına olursa olsun tüketilecektir.

So the effect is to encourage production of more drugs and Yani etkisi daha fazla ilaç üretimini teşvik etmek ve

recruitment of more traffickers, which increases availability. ||||||Verfügbarkeit le recrutement d'un plus grand nombre de trafiquants, ce qui augmente la disponibilité. recrutamento de mais traficantes, o que aumenta a disponibilidade. daha fazla insan tacirinin işe alınması, bu da bulunabilirliği artırır.

This is also known as the balloon effect: even if drug production or ||||||Ballon-Effekt|||||| Bu aynı zamanda balon etkisi olarak da bilinir: ilaç üretimi veya

a major supply route is destroyed, the supply for the end user is not reduced. ||||||||||||||verringert une voie d'approvisionnement majeure est détruite, l'approvisionnement de l'utilisateur final n'est pas réduit. uma importante rota de abastecimento é destruída, o abastecimento para o usuário final não é reduzido.

A perfect example of this is crystal meth. ||||||Kristallmeth|Crystal Meth Le crystal meth en est un parfait exemple. Um exemplo perfeito disso é a metanfetamina.

The US Government tried to stop its production

by strictly regulating the sale of chemicals used to manufacture the drug. ||regulieren||Verkauf|||||herstellen|| |||||||||製造|| regulamentando rigorosamente a venda de produtos químicos usados para fabricar a droga.

This forced big meth producers out of business, Les grands producteurs de méthamphétamine ont ainsi été contraints de cesser leurs activités, Isso forçou os grandes produtores de metanfetamina a sair do negócio,

but the unintended consequences were that thousands of small-scale operations ||||||||||Betriebe mais les conséquences involontaires ont été que des milliers d'opérations à petite échelle ont été mises en place.

started all over the country, mostly in small towns and rural communities, ||||||||Kleinstädte||ländlichen Gegenden|

using chemicals that weren't regulated.

In response to this, some US states wanted to reduce the supply of home-grown meth En réaction, certains États américains ont voulu réduire l'offre de méthamphétamine produite dans le pays. Em resposta a isso, alguns estados dos EUA queriam reduzir a oferta de metanfetamina

by regulating even more chemicals,

which reduced small-scale meth production drastically. ||||||drastisch reduziert qui a permis de réduire considérablement la production de méthamphétamine à petite échelle.

But the supply of meth still stayed the same. Mais l'offre de méthamphétamine est restée la même.

Mexican drug cartels immediately took over and opened big production operations. 墨西哥的|||||||||| |||sofort||||übernahmen||| メキシコの|||||||||| Os cartéis de drogas mexicanos imediatamente assumiram o controle e abriram grandes operações de produção.

Their meth was even better than it was before,

and they had lots of experience in smuggling. |||||||Schmuggel treiben |||||||密輸 e eles tinham muita experiência em contrabando.

So all these efforts made meth production more professional,

the drug more potent, while supply wasn't reduced at all.

You can't win this war on the supply side. On ne peut pas gagner cette guerre en jouant sur l'offre. Você não pode vencer esta guerra do lado da oferta.

Not only are drugs widely available, demand unbroken, |||||||不减 |||||||ungebrochen Non seulement les médicaments sont largement disponibles, mais la demande ne faiblit pas, Não só as drogas estão amplamente disponíveis, a demanda ininterrupta,

and some drugs purer than in the past, with a budget of around $30 billion, |||更纯净|||||||||| |||reiner als früher|||||||||| |||より純度の高い|||||||||| et certains médicaments plus purs que par le passé, avec un budget d'environ 30 milliards de dollars, e alguns medicamentos mais puros do que no passado, com um orçamento de cerca de US$ 30 bilhões,

the US Drug Enforcement Agency has an efficiency rate of less than 1% |||Durchsetzung|||||||| l'Agence américaine de lutte contre la drogue a un taux d'efficacité inférieur à 1%. a Agência Antidrogas dos EUA tem uma taxa de eficiência inferior a 1%

when it comes to stopping the flow of drugs into the US quando se trata de parar o fluxo de drogas para os EUA

and inside the US.

For many minors around the world, it's as easy to get illegal drugs as alcohol. ||未成年人|||||||||||| ||Minderjährige|||||||||||| ||未成年者|||||||||||| Para muchos menores de todo el mundo, es tan fácil conseguir drogas ilegales como alcohol. Pour de nombreux mineurs dans le monde, il est aussi facile de se procurer des drogues illégales que de l'alcool. Para muitos menores em todo o mundo, é tão fácil obter drogas ilegais quanto o álcool.

But it doesn't stop here.

Prohibition may prevent a certain amount of people from taking drugs,

but in the process it causes huge damage to society as a whole.

Many of the problems we associate with drug use |||||in Verbindung bringen|||

are actually caused by the war against them.

For example, prohibition makes drugs stronger.

The more potent drugs you can store in as little space as possible, Les médicaments les plus puissants peuvent être stockés dans un espace aussi réduit que possible, Os medicamentos mais potentes que você pode armazenar no menor espaço possível,

the more profit you'll make. mais lucro você terá.

It was the same during alcohol prohibition,

which led to an increased consumption of strong liquor over beer.

The prohibition of drugs also led to more violence and murders around the world. ||||||||||Morde|||

Gangs and cartels have no access to the legal system to settle disputes, Banden||||||||||||Streitigkeiten beizulegen ギャング|||||||||||| Las bandas y los cárteles no tienen acceso al sistema judicial para resolver sus disputas, Les gangs et les cartels n'ont pas accès au système juridique pour régler leurs différends, Gangues e cartéis não têm acesso ao sistema legal para resolver disputas,

so they use violence.

This led to an ever-increasing spiral of brutality. ||||||||Brutalität ||||||||残虐性 Isso levou a uma espiral cada vez maior de brutalidade.

According to some estimates, the homicide rate in the US |||Schätzungen zufolge||Mordrate|||| |||||殺人事件||||

is 25–75% higher because of the War on Drugs.

And in Mexico, the country on the frontline, |||||||an vorderster Front |||||||最前線 E no México, o país da linha de frente,

an estimated 164,000 have been murdered between 2007 and 2014, ||||ermordet worden||

more people than in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq ||||||||Afghanistan und Irak||Irak

in the same period, combined.

But where the War on Drugs might do the most damage to society

is the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders. |||||||Straftäter |||||||犯罪者 é o encarceramento de infratores de drogas não violentos.

For example, the United States,

one of the driving forces of the War on Drugs, |||treibenden|||||| una de las fuerzas motrices de la Guerra contra las Drogas, l'un des moteurs de la guerre contre la drogue, 麻薬撲滅戦の推進力の一つ、 uma das forças motrizes da Guerra às Drogas,

has 5% of the world's total population, but 25% of the world's prison population, tiene el 5% de la población total del mundo, pero el 25% de la población carcelaria mundial, compte 5 % de la population totale du monde, mais 25 % de la population carcérale mondiale, 世界の総人口の5%を占めるが、世界の刑務所人口の25%を占める、

largely due to the harsh punishments and mandatory minimums. ||||||||最低刑期 |aufgrund|||harten|Strafen||verpflichtend|Mindeststrafen ||||||||最低刑罰 en gran parte debido a las duras penas y a los mínimos obligatorios. en grande partie en raison des peines sévères et des peines minimales obligatoires. 主に厳しい罰則と最低量刑制度によるもの。 em grande parte devido às punições severas e aos mínimos obrigatórios.

Minorities suffer because of this especially. Minderheiten|leiden|||| |||||特に Las minorías sufren por ello especialmente. Les minorités en souffrent particulièrement. As minorias sofrem especialmente por causa disso.

African Americans make up 40% of all US prison inmates. ||||||||Insassen ||||||||囚人 Los afroamericanos representan el 40% de todos los reclusos de Estados Unidos. Os afro-americanos representam 40% de todos os presos dos EUA. Афроамериканцы составляют 40% всех заключенных в тюрьмах США.

And while white kids are more likely to abuse drugs, ||||||||Missbrauchen| Y mientras que los niños blancos son más propensos a abusar de las drogas, Et alors que les enfants blancs sont plus susceptibles de consommer des drogues,

black kids are 10 times more likely to get arrested for drug offenses. |||||||||||违法行为 |||||||||||Straftaten |||||||||||犯罪 los niños negros tienen 10 veces más probabilidades de ser detenidos por delitos de drogas. crianças negras têm 10 vezes mais chances de serem presas por delitos de drogas.

OK, but is there actually something different we could do?

Is there a way out of this mess? |||||||Durcheinander ¿Hay alguna manera de salir de este lío? Existe uma saída para essa confusão?

In the 1980s, Switzerland experienced |||在20世纪80年代,瑞士经历了|

a public health crisis related to heroin use. |||Gesundheitskrise||||

HIV rates skyrocketed and street crime became a problem. As taxas de HIV dispararam e o crime de rua tornou-se um problema.

Swiss authorities tried a new strategy: harm reduction. 瑞士当局||||||| As autoridades suíças tentaram uma nova estratégia: redução de danos.

They opened free heroin maintenance centers, ||||Erhaltung|Zentren Eles abriram centros gratuitos de manutenção de heroína,

where addicts would be treated and stabilized. ||||||stabilisiert ||||||安定させられた onde os viciados seriam tratados e estabilizados.

Here, people would be given free heroin of high quality,

they would get clean needles and have access to safe injection rooms, ||||saubere Spritzen||||||Injektion| ||||針||||||| eles obteriam agulhas limpas e teriam acesso a salas de injeção seguras,

showers, beds, and medical supervision. 淋浴设施||||监督 Duschen|Betten|||Überwachung シャワー||||医療監視

Social workers help them find housing and deal with other problems in their lives. |||||Wohnraum|und||||||| ソーシャルワーカーは、彼らが住居を見つけたり、生活の中の他の問題に対処する手助けをします。 Os assistentes sociais os ajudam a encontrar moradia e a lidar com outros problemas em suas vidas.

The results were a sharp drop in drug-related crime Les résultats ont été une forte baisse de la criminalité liée à la drogue その結果、薬物関連の犯罪が大幅に減少しました。 Os resultados foram uma queda acentuada no crime relacionado às drogas

and two thirds of the people in the centers got regular jobs, ||und zwei Drittel||||||||| et deux tiers des personnes dans les centres ont obtenu un emploi régulier, センターにいる人々の3分の2が定職に就きました。

because now they could focus on getting better

instead of financing their addiction. en lugar de financiar su adicción. em vez de financiar seu vício.

Today, over 70% of all heroin addicts in Switzerland receive treatment. ||||||||erhalten|

HIV infections have dropped drastically. As infecções pelo HIV caíram drasticamente.

Deaths from heroin overdoses have dropped by 50%.

And drug-related street sex work and crime has been reduced enormously. ||||Sexarbeit|||||||enormerweise |||||||||||非常に E o trabalho sexual de rua e o crime relacionados às drogas foram reduzidos enormemente.

So there are methods that are not only way cheaper, Portanto, existem métodos que não são apenas muito mais baratos,

but also actually work, instead of creating more problems.

Drug prohibition led to a system that bulldozes human rights, |||||||践踏|| |||||||überrollt|| |||||||押しつぶす|| La prohibition des drogues a conduit à un système qui bouscule les droits de l'homme, A proibição das drogas levou a um sistema que arrasa os direitos humanos,

costs vast sums of money, and creates a lot of human misery, custa vastas somas de dinheiro e cria muita miséria humana,

all in pursuit of an unobtainable goal. |||||无法实现的| |||||unerreichbar| |||||手に入らない| tudo em busca de um objetivo inatingível. все в погоне за недостижимой целью.

After 40 years of fighting, it's time to finally end the War on Drugs Após 40 anos de luta, é hora de finalmente acabar com a Guerra às Drogas

and move on to something better. e passar para algo melhor.

This video was supported by the Open Society Foundations ||||||||Stiftungen Este vídeo foi apoiado pela Open Society Foundations

and by viewer donations on Patreon. ||Zuschauer|Spenden|| e por doações de espectadores no Patreon.

If you want to learn more about how you can influence drug policy, Se você quiser saber mais sobre como pode influenciar a política de drogas,

check out the Stop the Harm campaign. confira a campanha Stop the Harm.

We finally have some merchandise! ||||我们终于有一些商品了! ||||商品 Finalmente temos alguma mercadoria!

If you want your own Kurzgesagt poster, T-shirt, mug, ||||||||T-Shirt| |||||||||マグカップ Se você quiser seu próprio pôster Kurzgesagt, camiseta, caneca,

or stickers of little monsters, |小怪物贴纸|||小怪物 |Aufkleber|||kleine Monster ||||モンスター ou adesivos de monstrinhos,

you can get them now at the DFTBA store! |||||||DFTBA 商店| |||||||DFTBA-Shop| |||||||DFTBAストア|

Subtitles by the Amara.org community |||Amara||