Don T Legalize Drugs Analysis

For many years, drugs have been the center of crime and the criminal justice system in the United States. Due to this widespread epidemic, President Richard Nixon declared the “War on Drugs” in 1971 with a campaign that promoted the prohibition of illicit substances and implemented policies to discourage the overall production, distribution, and consumption. The War on Drugs and the U.S. drug policy has experienced the most significant and complex challenges between criminal law and the values of today’s society. With implemented drug polices becoming much harsher over the years in order to reduce the overall misuse and abuse of drugs and a expanded federal budget, it has sparked a nation wide debate whether or not they have created more harm than good. When looking at the negative consequences of these policies not only has billions of dollars gone to waste, but the United States has also seen public health issues, mass incarceration, and violent drug related crime within the black market in which feeds our global demands and economy. With this failed approach for drug prohibition, there continues to be an increase in the overall production of illicit substances, high rate of violence, and an unfavorable impact to our nation.

Proponents on the legalization of drugs believe if drugs were to become legal; the black market worth billions of dollars would become extinct, drug gangsters would disappear, addicts would stop committing crimes to support their habit and the prison system would not be overwhelmed with a problem they cannot defeat. The decriminalization of drugs will only make illegal drugs cheaper, easier to get and more acceptable to use. “The U.S. has 20 million alcoholics and alcohol misusers, but only around 6 million illegal drug addicts. If illegal drugs were easier to obtain, this figure would rise”(Should Drugs be decriminalized? No.November 09, 2007 Califano Joseph A, Jr).”

Within the last 50 years, drug legalization has been a very hotly debated topic in the United States society. It almost seems that every "street drug" was once legal, but banned soon after its introduction in society. Illegal substances that one sees today were once synthesized and created by chemist such as LSD, ecstasy, methamphetamine, cocaine, and etc., and at some point used for medical reasons, however during many circumstances were deemed illegal by the government due to detrimental effects after prolonged usage. William Bennett's "Drugs: Should Their Sale and Use Be Legalized" targets the general American public into understanding the societal importance of upholding the nations

Currently, drugs continue to be extremely high on the lists of concerns Americans have and it is a serious problem that we need to take charge of. To a lot of people drugs aren’t really a big issue because they aren’t users, but actually they impact everyone – users and non-users alike. I believe that if the entirety of the United States adopted a policy towards the decriminalization of marijuana then the negative demeanor that is often associated with drugs would be diminished. The drug policy we have now -- sucks. Drug laws have only inspired illegal activity, whether it be illegal trafficking, sale, use, development, growth, and MANY people have been killed because of

Critics argue that legalization of certain drugs will not end the drug war and that instead, it will cause more violence and issues for the county’s well being. In the mid-1980’s the cocaine epidemic hit and a large amount of crime, deaths from overdoses and violence came with it. The result of this was laws being placed with minimum punishment for drug trafficking to attempt to control the issue. Throughout the early 1990s crime started to slowly decrease and in 2013 the amount of crime was reduced in half. One viewpoint is that once the title of being non-violent labeled drug traffickers crime started to rise anew. Some crimes included murders of innocent bystanders and more drug flow into the U.S (Cook1). William J. Bennett and John P. Walters, Boston Globe writers, complicate matters further when they write “For 25 years before President Obama, U.S policy confronted drug

For many people, the thought of making drugs easily accessible for consumption by the masses may be frightening. After all, we have drug laws in place because they have the potential to be harmful. It also may not be difficult to imagine that it could very well be subject to failure due to a numerous amount negative externalities that may occur. Our nation has been engaged in a war on drugs for several decades now. The effectiveness of this war, however, is a topic that has continuously been debated. Some argue that universal legalization of drugs, an alternative that has never been tried, may have a greater benefits when compared to the present state of the war on drugs. On the other hand, the opposition believes that legalization would only pave the way for a vast amount of crime and many wasted resources.

It was typical hot friday afternoon in Miami, Florida where I encountered Mr. Tomas Name, a current law student, at the set rendezvous(Tijuana Flats). The good sir eager to start the interview received me with an ecstatic grin and said “let us get to it.” Of course after ordering the mega burritos, I got the tape recorder and we began the interview about the war on drugs, Mr. Tomas’ favorite subject. Immediately with a fire starter question like “what are your current thoughts on the U.S. Federal drug policy?” the gears were set into motion, without a flinch Mr. Tomas replied, “lately it's been getting slightly better, but not enough to call it a success.” He also inferred that how is cannabis a schedule 1 narcotic when the U.S. government has medicinal patents on the

As a nation we face a serious enemy that is not on foreign soil but here at home. The drug problem in this country has truly affected many lives and families. This enemy has no limits and affects our domestic tranquility. All drugs should not be legalized because they have the ability to impair judgment and do much bodily harm. Drugs have been a dark shadow lingering over our country for many years. In recent years, the heroine epidemic has spread throughout the nation; it has taken many lives and hurt many families along the way.

Ever since the federal criminalization of marijuana in the United States in 1937, there has been a large underground drug market (Paul). Much like how the prohibition of alcohol simply forced imbibers underground, those who chose to partake in marijuana are forced to stay away from the prying eye of the law because of present marijuana laws. This means the drug world is concealed from the average citizen, hiding the dangers of drug deals gone wrong, police shootings, and other dangerous occurrences. In a way this allows the government to mask the fact that their well-funded ‘War on Drugs’ is ineffective, a ‘War’ with a budget of roughly twenty billion dollars; which is not profoundly effective in the curbing the use of drugs (Jillette). If

The issue of legalization of drugs is among the most polarizing debates in modern history. It is commonplace to use the term ‘epidemic’ for the level of drug abuse prevalent in the country today. Yet, the proponents and opponents of legalization of drugs passionately defend their arguments and find logical fallacies with the arguments of the opposing camps. Both sides, however, generally agree that the current ‘war on drugs’ is not working as expected and there is significant room for improvement because the cost of such a war often exceeds its benefits.

Since the mid-80s when Nancy Regan appeared with her green “Just Say No” stickers, suburban housewives and elementary school teachers have been on the front lines of the War on Drugs. The crusade against illegal drugs on the streets and in the classrooms across America has been an ongoing battle since then. Some say the fight is working; they believe stronger laws and punishment for those who break those laws are working. Others see more youths and first-time offenders receiving too much jail time than is necessary. The amount of money spent on the war is high, and few people think the end results are worth the fight.

Drug legalization is an enduring question that presently faces our scholars. This issue embraces two positions: drugs should not be legalized and drugs should be legalized. These two positions contain an array of angles that supports each issue. This brief of the issues enables one to consider the strengths and weakness of each argument, become aware of the grounds of disagreement and agreement and ultimately form an opinion based upon the positions stated within the articles. In the article “Against the Legalization of Drugs”, by James Q. Wilson, the current status of drugs is supported. Wilson believes if a drug such as heroin were legalized there would be no financial or medical reason to avoid heroin usage;

According to Michelle Alexander, why and how has the “war on drugs” developed over the last 40 years? What are the main political and economic factors that led to the war on drugs, and what are the main political and economic factors that shaped it as it developed over the last four decades? Draw on material from the Foner textbook chapters 25 through 28 to supplement Alexander’s discussion of the political and economic context.

A multibillion dollar industry, with a consumer population of about 125 to 203 million people; the drug industry affects lives of all racial, ethnic, economic , social background, including participants in the drug industry, addicts, teenagers, parents, families, and officers of the law. Many people have encountered an experience with drugs and or drug education; the shared experience regarding the discussion of this topic or illegal experience brings importance to this current issue and validates the proposal for change. How much change, what change and how long will the change take place. Although this issue has many perspectives and opinions on how the war on drugs could be “won”, I will focus on two perspectives: drug criminalization and drug legalization. In a Human Rights lens, I will discuss the limitations and strengths of both methods. In the opinion of some and with hindsight the status quo regarding drugs requires reform in order to reverse the unintended consequences of drug prohibition. In the opinion of others criminalizing participants in the drug trade should be penalized under the law.

The legalization of drugs has been an issue in society for quite a long time. People who are for and against the legalization of drugs can be very opinionated in their beliefs. Often times, some of these people on both sides of the argument can even be considered extremists. These disagreements vary quite a bit across the spectrum. Milton Friedman, someone who is for the legalization of drugs, argues that "A user must associate with criminals to [sic] get the drugs, and many are driven to become criminals themselves . . ." (569). On the contrary, drugs can cause very serious health problems and due to their destructive nature, they can destroy not only the user, but their family and loved ones as well. Milton 's point reinforces the idea to make drugs legal. However, to make drugs legal can have serious problems. Health concerns, for instance, can be a major factor if we decide to legalize drugs. There are also major benefits to make drugs illegal. I stand against the idea to make drugs legal; it can lead to harmful consequences and regret.