The United States, as well as other participating countries, declared war on the illegal drug industry by passing an initiative to combat the illegal drug trade that threatened modern day society. This never ending war was initiated by President Nixon in 1969. Soon later in 1973 the Drug Enforcement Administration was created as a government branch dedicated to fighting this illegal industry. It is commonly known as the DEA.

Prior to this time there were many large attacks at the black market portion of the drug industry, but only laws were created. Research and trends revealed that this industry was still growing at an unacceptable level. Most of the punishments were rather lenient and were still not seen as being as beneficial as the government believed necessary. The 1973 creation of the DEA was the first major investment of the US government to crackdown on illegal drugs.

In 2005 alone, the United States spent more than $45 billion of tax payer's money on this war by fighting, incarcerating, and rehabilitating our drug issue. Not only is the spending completely out of control, but illegal drug use has continued to substantially increase every year since prohibition. More than one fifth of our youth population actively uses what the United States government considers to be illegal drugs.

Like any other war, the best possible resolution is to find diplomacy. What needs to happen is the finding of a middle ground to the failing battle that satisfies both opinions. Drugs such as marijuana are currently illegal that offer no severe health risks, are not dangerous, and are not addictive. Instead, the government continues to lie to our youth through schools and TV about such harmless issues. If legalized, regulated, and taxed, marijuana alone would be enough to fund a large portion of a war on dangerous drugs such as heroin and methamphetamines. This would also no longer pull law enforcement into unnecessary situations and keep them on track to fight harder drugs. Several countries around the world have realized this to an extent. Many parts of the world consider use of marijuana to be either legal or completely decriminalized.

Fortunately, some harmless herbs such as salvia divinorum have avoided the government's spree. It is not a very commonly known herb even through it is perfectly legal to sell and own in most of the United States. Salvia divinorum offers it's user a psychedelic experience that only lasts a short period of time and has not been known to cause harm to anyone. Salvia is a great example of how a nonaddictive herb can be legal and not get out of control.

We will continue to see the failure of our war on drugs until swift actions against harmful drugs are taken and the shackles released from harmless ones. Growing up in this world kids are exposed to these drugs. When they realize that the government has misled them, they lose faith in the government's decisions on other drugs. This may cause more harm than good.