Barry, I agree with you on some levels when it comes to illicit drugs. However, I believe legalizing some of the illicit drugs such as heroin, methamphetamines, cocaine would cause more harm than good. I do not place marijuana in the same category as the drugs I listed previously. Sure legalizing these drugs may reduce the drug cartels income. The drug cartels are very ingenious when it comes to ways to earn money and distribute their product. Should these drugs become legal; the cartels will undercut the market and sell the drugs cheaper. I believe they would use intimidation and extortion in order to continue earning money. The legalization of illicit drugs would possibly earn millions if not billions in revenue, but I do not believe
I think decriminalizing marijuana would have some effect on the cartels but marijuana isn’t the only type of drug that they are bringing into the united states. If marijuana became legal on the federal level then the cartel would just focus all their effort on another drug or they would still continue to illegally import it due to a higher demand for marijuana and they would find a way to get it into the hands of retail pot shop and they would still be making
Marijuana has negative side effects on a consumer that may end up being the reason why the legalization is wrongful. Most drugs have crimes tied along them, and this automatically gives a reason to keep drugs illegal. Along
Mexican cartels, which control most of the cocaine and methamphetamine smuggled into the United States, bring in 25 billion to 40 billion in their global operations every year, one way to slow the drug trade down would be to legalize marijuana. If we did this the government could regulate the trade between the two counties and the cartels would have to pay taxes to the Mexican government and this could be helpful to the people of Mexico and weaken the cartels.
Marijuana these days is causing indefinite amount of problems because it is not legal. Since it is not legal in the U.S., Drug Cartels are taking advantage of that and illegally importing their products across the border by the use of “Drug Mules” or underground tunnels. That hurts us tremendously, since we invest millions of dollars every year to strengthen our border security to, but they always find a way to get it into the country because of high demand and price for illegal marijuana. Drug Cartels are also taking millions to billions of dollars illegally out of our economy, which is not helping our National Debt. If we legalize marijuana we can prevent the Drug Cartels from making money because people will have an easier way to buy it and we can also regulate how
There have been studies done that have proven that IQ’s of people 21 and older that use this drug have not been affected in the long term, even though while under the influence their IQ may drop temporarily. There have been many studies done on cannabis and they have found that the drug should not be considered a schedule I drug and that it should not be illegal but Nixon dispelled this information and kept the drug’s illegal status. In addition, it has been shown that misdemeanors have decreased and opioid use has decreased in places that marijuana is legal. It was shown in Colorado that opioid use went down by about 30%. This would mean that the overall safety of communities would be on the rise. Lastly, there are many addictive substances that are currently legal that could be compared to pot. Alcohol is legal and has the same short term effects as cannabis. Also, tobacco is the number one cause of death by an addictive substance, followed by alcohol, with marijuana in the rear. Although, this side provides many compelling arguments, the opposition has a significant number of relevant points as
Citizens who are for the reform of marijuana or any drug have obvious opposite feelings towards the previous statements. First of all citizens for drug reform state that although marijuana causes adverse health effects so do many other activities that are perfectly legal. Should the government outlaw alcohol, tobacco, and having unprotected and promiscuous sex (Rachels 224)? Also, the claim that drugs cause harm to family and friends can be rebutted with the fact that people are harmful to family and friends without the influence of drugs (Rachels 228-229). Alcohol is a completely legal drug and many people are killed in car accidents involving drunk drivers, yet alcohol is still not outlawed. In no way am I condoning driving under the influence, but it is a thought provoking argument. A great argument made by supporters of drug reform is a question posed by Michael Huemer. He says “is it unjust for the state to punish people without having a good reason for doing so?” (Rachels 229). With valid
Another popular argument is that legalizing marijuana will put criminal organizations out of business. While such an outcome would be a beneficial, it is unlikely to happen for several reasons. Firstly, criminal organizations will always find other things to sell. Secondly, the majority of marijuana is still likely to come from cartels. And third, people will continue to buy marijuana on the black market for no other reason than its tax free. As an example, illegal cigarettes called “loosies” are commonly sold on the black market due to the high taxes placed on them. Eric Garner, who died while resisting arrest for selling “loosies”, brought this issue to public attention. Then there is the argument that the government has no right telling people what to put in their bodies. While this argument may have some merit, I would argue that the government does have a responsibility to protect our well-being. No one argues, for instance, when the FDA keeps things off the market that adversary affects our health. Lastly, proponents will say that marijuana is not addictive, however research shows otherwise. About 9 percent become addicted to marijuana, for those who start young it’s 17 percent. For those who use marijuana daily it can be as high as 25 to 50 percent ("Health Effects Of Marijuana
Every property crime committed by a drug user is potentially a violent crime. Many victims are beaten, severely injured, and murdered each year. A New York City crack user murdered five people in an eight-day period to get the money to buy drugs. The user survived the crack, but his victims did not. So in actuality, the act of prohibiting drugs is to blame for so called “drug-related violence.” Legal drugs like morphine, alcohol, and a pack of smokes are more detrimental to the user and those around the user than one joint smoked a week. Plus, if pot were to be legalized, it would be regulated, and DUIs could be given to those who drive while high.
We should decriminalize drugs in the U.S. instead of legalizing them. Decriminalization refers to the lessening of criminal penalties of certain acts. According to De Marneffe, “… the legalization of drugs … [is] the removal of criminal penalties for the manufacture, sale, and possession of large quantities of recretational drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine” (346).
On average, Americans spend about 5 billion dollars on marijuana every year. Thats about how much the country contributes to the purchase of alcohol! The only problem is that the money made from people selling marijuana illegally mostly goes into the pockets of mafias because they contain the largest portion of distribution in the marijuana chain. On average each state spends right at about 1 billion dollars to make sure the marijuana laws are enforced. Asa Hutchinson, the former DEA director mentioned in a CNBC interview that "The cost to fight marijuana is worth it and the people should not mind the cost, but instead look into the benefits it would bring to the country." However, its difficult to see what the benefits really are, because the law enforcement says that criminalizing marijuana will reduce the number of accidents associated with people under the influence of marijuana, reduce violence caused by the intoxication of the drug, and reduce the number of drug dependents. But these arguments to criminalize the use of marijuana are completely unproven. Alcohol also intoxicates the drinker, which obviously causes vehicle accidents. Tobacco poses health risk to smokers after years of continuous use, but they are still considered legal? Therefore, the reasons given to criminalize marijuana aren't very accurate and unproven. It is ironic that the given effects of marijuana are almost the same that made it illegal and are the same
If you expect that legalizing some drugs will stop drug addicts that is a lie. Why? Because if they do not buy the drugs from the streets. They will eventually buy it from a legal supplier. Because they would not necessary have the money they would need to buy it so as we all know for drug addicts it is always about the next dosage, person in not frame of mind will do anything necessary to get the next dosage.
The current policy in use by the United States concerning illegal drugs is both outdated and unfair. This so-called war on drugs is a deeply rooted campaign of prohibition and unfair sentencing that is very controversial and has been debated for many years. The war on drugs is designed so that it will never end. This current drug was has very little impact on the overall supply of prohibited drugs and its impact on demand seems non-existent. United States’ taxpayers are spending billions of dollars on this failure of policy. They are spending billions to incarcerate drug users instead offering drug treatment which could help lower demand. Legalizing illicit would lower abuse and deaths from use and could have a positive economic impact on the United States. Certain industries are making massive sums of money by capitalizing on the drug war.
Legalizing drugs would also increase countries revenue. During prohibition, alcohol use was still rampant. People were still drinking, only because it was illegal. In the US, the 21st amendment annulled prohibition and alcohol taxes were increased. The same thing should be done with marijuana and other illegal drugs today. The drugs should be heavily taxed to increase revenue. The drugs could be made by the same companies who make such things as aspirin, so the quality would be assured- - no poisons or adulterants. Sterile hypodermic needles could be readily available at drug stores, thus curbing the spread of diseases such as AIDS, and hepatitis. These could be taxed densely because the user will be guaranteed of getting ‘clean drugs’. Legalizing alcohol did not
Let’s also assume that marijuana costs $15 a gram and of those 75,000,000 people smoking they smoke 5 grams a week. After calculations of 5 grams a week at $15 a gram times the 75,000,000 people that use, the total revenue would be $5,625,000,000, most of which if regulated by the government would be profit. Would it be more beneficial to society for this substantial amount of money to continue to be made by the illegal drug trade or the economy? Legalizing marijuana would also create jobs. The government would need to employ many Americans to produce and regulate the sales and distribution of the product. Facilities to grow and sell the product would be required and therefore people to run the facilities would be required. Another bonus is the fact that law enforcement can focus on other more serious crime issues within the community, instead of utilizing time and resources on marijuana. The number of people arrested yearly for marijuana offenses outweighs the total number arrested for violent crimes including murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. This also puts a strain on the prison systems that house these offenders which are mostly hard working Americans who simply smoke to relax. While these are all good points those who oppose the legalization state that marijuana is still a drug that alters perception, it is addictive, and long term use
Believe it or not if the government where to legalize drugs, the amount of money they would save is tremendous. In fact pot legalization could save the United States $13.7 billion per year- according to 300 economists on huffpost.com. The United States spends about 40 billion dollars on enforcing drug prohibition per year. Money spent on law enforcement. Violence that deals with drug trade, decreases economic development and keeps millions in poverty. Nobel Prize winning economist Gary Becker speculates that drug prohibition increases addiction because it makes users reluctant to seek out treatment- according to Quartz Media. As research shows a lot of people are all for the legalization due to the increase of money the government would be savings and receiving, money that could be going to states. As we all know prohibition was set into place during the 20th century because woman felt as if men were getting out of control, spending all of their money on