Should drugs be legalized? Do you know what is a drug? There are 2 definitions of a drug based on Oxford Dictionary (2008), drug are an illegal substance such as cocaine or heroin, which used for pleasure. Another definition of the drug is a substance used as a medicine. It shows that drug use has 2 sides, which is used for good things such as medicine and bad things such as opium. However, there is a lot of drug abuse these days. National Institute on Drug Abuse (2015) indicated that in 2013, an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older which is 9,4 percent of the population had used an illicit drug in the past month. This paper will talk about the reason why drugs should not be legalized such as increasing drug demand, lead to more addiction for the addicts, and harmful both for user and society.
First of all, legalization of drugs would increase drug demand. “Legalization, by removing penalties and reducing the price, would increase drug demand. Make something easier and cheaper to obtain, and you increase the number of people who will try it,” said Walters (2002). This is why, if drugs were legalized, it will not make the situation better but make it worse. There will be no penalties anymore and the price of the drug will be cheaper. People will always try to use something which exists around the society with a cheap price and easy to obtain. It would increase drug demand because it allows people to consume them freely and it would be a daily need for them,
The outcome of attempting this would make it even simpler to gain a profit in the drug industry. In the author’s opinion, if the process to acquire drugs becomes simpler, then the number of individuals
While there are many reasons to be for the legalization of drugs, many people forget that the reason they’re illegal is to discourage drug
Proponents of drug legalization, such as myself, argue that it could have a number of societal benefits. For one thing, it may help to reduce the number of weak addicts by making drugs more widely available and less valuable. As a result, employers would no longer have to worry about hiring people with drug addictions, potentially leading to a more competitive job market. Furthermore, legalization might contribute to economic growth by generating new jobs in the drug industry and money through taxes and regulations.
Lives are dramatically impacted by this issue. Addiction to any substance is very powerful, with many ending up jobless, homeless, or in debt to pursue their addiction. Stronger addiction has the power to do this as the substance is of higher necessity than basic survival, such as food and shelter. It is extremely easy to gain access to drugs, with many prescription drugs often being sold for profit. The manufacturing of illegal drugs has also grown in recent decades.
Randy E. Bartnett claims that “drug laws cause more harm to addicts and society than drugs themselves.” According to Bartnett, “Drug prohibition makes drugs so expensive, the addicts trying to crime in order to obtain money to buy them. Furthermore, drug prohibition is unfair in that it punishes users for committing a “crime” that has no victim.” Some people might agree with the idea that legalizing drugs would benefit addicts because then they would not be able to obtain drugs so easily.
For example, agencies have been established with the sole intent to manage drug use and distribution and technology has been exclusively developed to detect the presence of drugs. Yet, evidence has indicated that such exhaustive efforts have been relatively unsuccessful. First, it has been assumed that drugs have perpetuated violence in society and based on this rationale, it was believed that by the suppressing the pervasiveness of drugs that incidents of violence would simultaneously diminish. However, reality has failed to align with the expectations that had initially been anticipated. Research findings have suggested that the decriminalization of drugs would result in a less adversarial drug market in which conflicts have tended to arise among dealers as well as between dealers and buyers (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 2007, p. 21).
Drugs are the dangerous substances that will destroy the consumer both physically and mentally; therefore, it is necessary to determine these substances restrictively. In order to do that, I am strongly assuring that the drugs should be legalized. There are three main reasons why the drugs should be legalized: diminution of crime rates, health guarantee, and extending of drugs regulation. Drugs are one of the crime sources, although not by the drugs, itself, but the condition. Illegal drugs are rare products that could not be found in the normal market, the cost for its rarity is totally expensive.
On January 16, 1920, the 18th amendment was passed stating alcohol was illegal creating multiple problems in the United States. Although Prohibition seemed like a good idea at first, representing good health and morality, prohibition soon led to organized crime and gangs. Speakeasies, run by gangs and bootleggers, sold illegal and home-made alcohol. Bootleggers, getting their names from people soring alcohol in false legs, would run bars or taverns hidden from police. Organized crime grew and the gangs fought for control and kept their secrets by conquering any threats.
The continuous use of narcotics results in addiction, and financial struggles due to the costly upkeep. “Financial problems are one of the major side effects of drug and substance abuse” (Buaggett, 2015). Addicts cannot adequately take an active role in the economic activities, as the use of drugs inhibits the abilities of the users to earn a daily living. Due to the instability of finances, this would result in selling personal belongings to continue funding the substance of choice, and depending on the addicts living situation, this could lead to losing their house or being removed from their current housing. While being under the influence, an addicts voice of reason is jeopardized, resulting in criminal activities which raise the chances of being apprehended by the law enforcers, as well as, heavy fines are imposed.
Upon reading Gore Vidals "Case for Legalizing Marijuana" one may wonder why drugs are not legal in the United States of America. Afterall, several valid reasonings were made throughout the article. There is a demand for drugs and many people are supplying them, while also making a small fortune. If drugs were made legal and sold for high prices, their market would decrease because many people would not be able to afford them. Most people involved in the drug world do not know the consequences of that which they consume.
There is much debate on the issue of recreational drug use. Some argue it harms the user, therefore, is wrong. Others maintain that recreational drug use inspired artistic expression in some, religious awakening, and a general feeling of pleasure and positive attitude in others. Timothy Hsiao argues that recreational drug use is immoral because it impairs cognitive abilities and the state based on this fact has an obligation to enact legal restriction to safeguard that people actually exercise their freedom.
However, there are many that argue that the decriminalization of possession of drugs would redirect focus of the law enforcement system of any country to put more effort into arresting dealers and big time criminals, instead of arresting minor criminals for mere possession, and thus be more effective. It also has more focus on the drug user instead of drug lords which is a more humane approach as compared to the others. Decriminalisation then includes diversion programmes instead of incarceration. Decriminalisation also removes the stigma attached to a criminal conviction for the use of
Introduction: Attention getter: according to ohio.gov, over 4,000 people died of drug overdose in 2016. Relevance: drug abuse is a growing epidemic especially here in Ohio, which is ranked 2nd worst overdose rates in the united states. Credibility: multiple of my family members have been addicted to drugs and i have first hand experience of how drug abuse can affect someone's life, and how rehab affects people addicted to drugs vs how prison affects people addicted to drugs. Thesis & Preview: as a result of the growing drug epidemic in the United States, thousands die every year. There are many proposed solutions for this problem such as decriminalization, rehab, prison, and even the death penalty.
Recently, people being calling that they have freedom to do what the want—using drugs, and proposing legalizing using drugs. This essay will discuss drug legalization issues only in America by giving valid data and considerate suggestion to explain why researcher believes drug should be legalized in the U.S. Drug can lead to multiple social problems and potential threats in most case, and there are several reasons why the US is currently suffering from serious drug problems. The US has a great amount drug user: according to the statistics provided by the U.S Federal Government, An estimated 3.6 million people met diagnostic criteria for dependence on illegal drugs in 1999, including 800,000 youths between the ages of twelve and seventeen (America’s Drug Use Profile, p.1). In recent years, there has been a worrying trend of young drug addiction and the lower age of drug users. Age between 18-25 years, current use of any illegal drug has been rising since 1994 and currently stands at 18.8 percent.
Cons of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana Marijuana legalization, for whatever reason, has been a topic of heated debate for years now. Different people express different opinions about why or why not it should be legalized for recreational use. The American FDA categorizes marijuana as a Schedule I drug meaning that its benefits are not guaranteed as many people claim. Although the drug has been said to contain medical benefits, the reality is that further research on how and when to use it is needed. Different states have legalized the use of Marijuana for medical reasons.