Opposition states the United States war on drugs has been fairly successful and is not wasting governmental funds or money. The United States government spends on average an estimated amount of 100 billion dollars annually to fight the war on drugs ("Time for a Truce in the War on Drugs" par. 2). The amount of money that is spent on the war on drugs is necessary. According to “Addiction and Substance Abuse*” the cost of the war on drugs is expensive, yet worth the money because the war keeps the amount of addicts down: “Though the war on drugs has been expensive, they contend, the costs of having more addicts in society would be even higher ("Addiction and Substance Abuse*” par. 8). The war on drugs is not only expensive, but also the war takes time to fight. The time that the war on drugs takes to fight is essential. The war on drugs has put a multitude of drug dealers and addicts behind bars. This keeps the drugs off the streets and keeps crime rates low. Blackwell states, "The presidency of Ronald Reagan marked the start of a long period of skyrocketing rates of incarceration… the number of people behind bars for nonviolent drug law offenses increased from 50,000 in 1980 to over 400,000 by 1997” (Blackwell par. 6). The number of citizens that were incarcerated after the expansion of the war on drugs increased 350,000 from 1980 to 1997. This statistic shows that the war on drugs is worth the time it takes to clean the streets. For example, at the beginning of 2013 violent crime rates dropped to half of what they were because of the mandatory penalties involving drug possession and other drug offenses (Cook par. 3). While supporters of the war on drugs would say that with these factors being considered the war on drugs is worth the time and money, those opposing the war on drugs would disagree. The war on drugs should no longer be fought because it is a waste of government funds and time spent fighting the war. President Ronald Reagan declared the current drug war in 1982 when the crime rate involving drugs was declining; the only reason why Reagan started the war was because of a political tactic devised by the Republican party to get votes (Blackwell par. 5). The war on drugs was created under false pretenses and was not needed. The government has wasted billions of dollars fighting the war on drugs when the war was started at a time of decreased drug rates. If the war on drugs was not started, drugs would still be easy to obtain, but there would not be as much of a demand for drugs. The government should legalize drugs because they would make money off of the drug industry instead of spending money on the drug industry, and with the money that the government makes they could help prevent drug abuse and help with treatment ("Addiction and Substance Abuse*” par. 2).In other words, rather than spending money on the war, the government needs to rethink their strategy and start making money rather than spending it. Furthermore, the war on drugs is a waste of money and time. The world will never be drug free, and the idea that the world will eventually be drug free needs to be forgotten (Time for a Truce in the War on Drugs” par. 9).Americans today believe the amount of time the government has spent fighting the war is absurd because drugs are still readily available for those that have connections and are not afraid to take a legal risk. The war on drugs is a waste of time and government funding, but supporters of the war on drugs still argue that DEA agents are making the best of both of the resources.