The Law of Attraction and The War on Drugs

law of attraction

Without delving too far into the metaphysical abyss, let’s apply the concepts of “The Law of Attraction” to the efforts against substance use and the associated problems in the United States. The Law of Attraction, in its simplest form, says that we attract what we focus our attention on…that we create our own reality by what we attend to.  Given that basic premise, let’s consider what we’ve accomplished since the passage of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.

The War on Drugs, as it has come to be known, was declared in 1970. It’s hard for most of us to imagine the world prior to the development of our current drug laws and the multitude of departments and organizations that have been created as a result. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) didn’t even exist before 1973. We had around 200,000 persons incarcerated in the U.S. in 1970…today there are over 2.2 million. In fact, the incarceration rate in the United States is the highest in the world.

Some estimates place the cost of the war on drugs at over 1 trillion dollars.  And what do we have to show for our efforts? Have we at least reduced the problems caused by the use of substances? Are we even making a dent? Are our streets and children safer today than in 1970? Hardly. Just take a look at the goals from the Department of Justice’s website and ask yourself how much progress has been made.

Instead the problems get progressively worse. Would anyone not willingly trade the drug problems of today for the problems of the 1970’s? The problems, in accordance with the Law of Attraction, continue to multiple the more we attend to them. The problems seem to gain power in proportion to the amount of time, energy and focus we dedicate.

Drugs are bad. People from my generation have heard that message so many times most of us believe it without a second thought. And in fact, there is a lot of bad that happens as a result of substance use in our society.  While I’m certainly not advocating for unrestricted use, I think it’s safe to say that what we’re doing isn’t working. As we say in the recovery community, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Since we know our current actions aren’t working, what is the solution?

What would have happened if instead of focusing on the problems, we focused the same amount of attention, energy and money on what we wanted? Since we don’t want people abusing substances, and experiencing the devastation that sometime results, what is it exactly that we want?  What would have happened if we had taken a different approach and passed the Health and Wellness Expansion Act of 1970? What if we had spent over 1 trillion dollars on treatment for those who need it and to improve infrastructure and communities? What would the world look like after 40 years of focusing on the solution? We can only imagine. Hopefully it’s not too late to change course and start focusing on the solutions instead of taking the traditional approach and doubling down on the problem.



2 thoughts on “The Law of Attraction and The War on Drugs

  1. Some would argue that our efforts towards curbing supply is futile. Some would argue that the focus should be on demand. Both sides of this argument are legitimate. This is not an easily solved puzzle. “Reefer Madness” was one of the original campaigns against the usage of drugs. “Just Say No” was yet another. DARE is still another. As we continuously move into the scientific realm of addiction and behavioral studies, the obvious does not always provide obvious results. Evidence-based interventions are becoming the way of providing mental and behavioral health recovery solutions.

    Spending more doesn’t necessarily mean better results. While we must be wise to pursue intervention techniques, we should also not lose sight that if one person gets helped with an intervention technique, then it is a success. Unfortunately on the macro level, this does not constitute well-received applause from the masses.

    It is believed that perhaps one movement towards a more effective direction of addressing these conflicts is to persuade insurance providers to allow more comprehensive coverage for mental health. We tend to focus heavily on physical health, which is great, but it is believed that mental and physical health cannot be considered mutually exclusive. They promote each other.

    While this may need heavy advocacy, it is not beyond the realization of the health care system. How can we get individuals to overcome the stigma of pursuing mental health care – and putting it on the same level as that of physical care? I mention this because it is believed that mental health is one of the key attributes that would aid the War on Drugs (the demand side). If one realizes that drugs are not required to cope with life’s routine, then perhaps the demand for drugs will diminish.

    1. I appreciate your comment on the connection between physical and mental health. I saw a graph a few weeks ago detailing the dramatic increase in cost for physical health care problems in the presence of a mental health disorder. When insurance companies are required to focus on both outcomes and costs, behavioral health will become a significantly more important part of healthcare practices in general.

Comments are closed.