Dear Future President of the United States,

Imagine a world free of drugs that cause great harm and even cause death. A world where people don't live in poverty due to addiction of drugs. A place where people don’t have to worry about their children going to school each day because of drugs. The future president should encourage policemen to be more strict about drug abuse because it causes health issues, poverty, and crime.

There are a lot of different types of drugs in our world and all of them can do harm to our bodies. “2013 data - About 570,000 people die annually in the U.S. due to drug use.”(Drug Facts Chat Day) This was just in 2013 but a lot can change in three years.There are also a lot of horrible symptoms that drugs can cause. “Drug abuse negatively affects a person's behavior and habits as he or she becomes more dependent on the drug.”(Symptoms and Signs)These symptoms can cause big problems with school or work and how a person acts around other people. If the majority of people took drugs in our community then our society would fall apart.

Another huge problem with drug abuse is that it causes poverty. People get addicted to drugs so then they can't stop buying them. “Someone addicted to drugs can quickly lose their job or have a hard time holding down a job. All the money they do have goes toward buying more drugs.”(The Connection)This is a huge problem because if there were a lot of people in poverty then there would not be enough working people. This would be a huge problem for our economy and it might even destroy it.

The last issue is that drugs can cause people to commit lots of crime. “For example, in 2004, 17% of state prisoners and 18% of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs.”(Wilcox) With a combined total of 35% of people in prison because of drugs, this is a major issue. This information was in 2004 and if we looked at this information in 2016, it would be much higher. Even if they get out of prison will they even get help? “In a survey of State and Federal prisoners, BJS estimated that about half of the prisoners met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria for drug abuse or dependence, and yet fewer than 20 percent who needed treatment received it.”(Facebook.com) If people don't get help when they get out of jail, then there will just be a continuous cycle of them going to jail over and over again. Drugs can also cause people to get mentally unstable and commit serious crimes they don't intentionally mean to do. “People who commit violent offences while under the influence of drugs, particularly alcohol. Drunkenness is associated with a majority of murders, manslaughters and stabbings and half of domestic assaults.”(How Much Crime) Half of domestic assaults are due to misuse of drugs which is really unhealthy for our society.

In conclusion, I think if the future president took a deeper look into the horrible things drug abuse causes, it would be really beneficial to our country. There would be more people without serious health problems, less crime, and a better economy if drug abuse wasn't a serious issue.

Work Cited

"Drug Facts Chat Day: Drug Abuse." NIDA for Teens. N.p., 3 Nov. 2016. Web. 04 Nov. 2016

"Symptoms and Signs of Drug Abuse." DrugAbuse.com. N.p., 01 Nov. 2016. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

"The Connection Between Poverty and Drug Abuse - Seacliff Recovery." Seacliff Recovery. N.p., 22 Aug. 2016. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

Wilcox, Stephen. "Alcohol, Drugs and Crime." Alcohol, Drugs and Crime. N.p., 27 June 2015. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

"How Much Crime Is Drug Related?" DrugWise. N.p., 20 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

Https://www.facebook.com/NIDANIH. "Introduction." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). N.p., Apr. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.