The drug ban has also led to an increase in violence and murders around the world. Gangs and cartels don't have access to courts to resolve disputes, so they use violence. This has led to an ever-expanding spiral of brutality. By some estimates, the homicide rate in the United States is now 25-75% higher due to the war on drugs. And even worse, in Mexico, approximately 164,000 people were killed 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 appears to do the most damage to society is the outrageous incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe United States, one of the driving forces of the war on drugs, has 5% of the total world population, but carries 25% of the world's prison population, largely due to harsh punishments and mandatory minimums. Minorities especially suffer from this. African American inmates make up 40% of all U.S. prisons. And while white children are much more likely to abuse drugs, black children are 10 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes. But the question remains; Is there anything different we can do? Is there a way out of all this? In the 1980s, Switzerland went through a public health crisis directly linked to heroin use. HIV rates had skyrocketed and street crime had become a major problem when it hadn't been before. Swiss authorities tried a new and improved strategy: harm reduction. Free heroin addiction centers have been opened. In these centers drug addicts would be treated and stabilized. People would receive free, high-quality heroin, clean needles and access to safe injection rooms, showers, beds and medical supervision. Social workers would help them find housing and deal with other life problems. The result was a sharp drop in all drug-related crimes and two-thirds of the people in the centers found regular work. They cleaned up their lives because they could now focus on getting better instead of funding their addiction. Today in Switzerland more than 70% of heroin addicts receive adequate treatment, HIV infections have dramatically decreased, heroin overdose deaths have decreased by 50%, and street sex work and drug-related crime have been greatly reduced . Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay