to make a thesis, you need information, a background of the drug war topic
I'd suggest you do some preliminary research before writing out a thesis. that way you will have an idea of what you want to write and you won't have flop back and forth with the paper. point to remember, present an argument that you support, one that you can find facts and evidence to support.
to present an argument, you need a question, maybe write a question here for people to see? or ask yourself one, and place yourself in a spot to answer it. good luck~
most research papers can be done without any real guide. make one for yourself based on the topic, specifications you want to meet and such.
work on formatting later, focus on what you want to say about your topic, the effects, the causes, the debate, the future, or a combo. narrow it down and start researching.
about this research paper, how many words? And how focused do you have to be? any general guidelines that you have to abide by? These will narrow down or allow you to write more about the issue. For example, a 4000 word research paper may range from 14-16 pages depending on layout, words used, citations, etc.
About a thesis, that's your own idea. xD Ask yourself, why this topic? what important about it? what is the best approach to such an issue? :] introductions can take up an entire page or more depending on what you want to talk about. basically, the intro presents a general explanation of what you are trying to say, why you are saying it, and the importance of talking about it.
this is just some general info. you can find this online as well
here's another thread to look at
https://essayforum.com/research-papers-11/earth-space-science-class -thesis-statement-help-15699/