Drugs : Why They Should Be Decriminalized

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).”

For many years, a real push has been looming on the idea of legalizing now illegal drugs. This has become a hot debate throughout nations all over the world, from all walks of life. The dispute over the idea of decriminalizing illegal drugs is and will continue on as an ongoing conflict. In 2001, Drug decriminalization in all drugs, including cocaine and heroin, became a nationwide law in Portugal (Greenwald). Ethan Nadelman, essayist of “Think again: Drugs,” states his side of the story on the continuing criminalization of hard drugs, in which he stand to oppose. Whether it is for the good of human rights or not, decriminalizing drugs may be a good head start for a new beginning.

Drug policy is a crucial topic in the country today. Substance abuse, as well as drug-related crime rates, are a huge problem. This is a fact. The way to fix the problem of substance abuse, however, is widely disagreed upon. Some think that stricter laws regarding drug possession and use would solve the problem, while others believe that loosening the restrictions would be a better option. The issue of legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, is one that is debated all the time. In fact, in 1995, a survey was conducted on the most important policy issues and eighty five percent of the country placed drugs at the top of the list (Falco 1996). Many states are actually beginning to decriminalize, and even

I am certain in my belief that most students who have attended any university in the US have in one way or another been around drugs. However, whether or not they partook in them is debatable. They have more than likely made a decision: to do the drug, or not to do the drug. If they are like me, they did not do the drug, but continued to socialize with those that did partake. If they are not like me, they may have taken the drug and continued to socialize with those they are around. Drugs have become a large part of college culture, and more ultimately, human culture. The reasons vary as much as the reasons why people personally choose to partake in the drug of their choice. Peter De Marneffe states in his article “Decriminalize, Don’t Legalize”, that “people use drugs because they enjoy them; they find them fun and relaxing. If it is easier, safer, and less expensive to do something fun and relaxing, more people will do it and do it more often” (De Marneffe, 200). Currently, the US is dealing with drug prohibition (War on Drugs) which has become a topic of hefty discussion. As David Boaz states in his article “Drug-Free America or Free America?”, political entities have attempted to stop the use of various drugs since drugs were first used. He goes on to say the most familiar example to the American people is the prohibition of alcohol (Boaz, 194). In this position paper, I will do the following: I will define

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

In 2015, 1,488,707 people in the United States were arrested on drug charges. Nearly 84 percent of those arrest were for possession only. As one can imagine these arrest impact the American justice system greatly. Within America's prisons in 2010 more than half of all inmates were serving time based on drug related charges. The prisons within America are greatly overcrowded, and I believe that decriminalizing drug use could offer assistance in this situation.

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).

In order to understand why drugs should be decriminalized in this country, it is important to know

With all of the complex issues facing the nation today, it seems as if the legalization of marijuana is being set on the back burner of legislation. There are so many opinions, sides, and overall arguments for and against it that many vote seeking politicians and policy makers have put up a strong resistance to this issue. In this paper I will illustrate the reasons why I think marijuana should indeed be legalized and also the arguments from people who disagree and feel that it should stay an illegal drug.

Possession and use of cannabis, also commonly known as marijuana, is considered illegal. For years marijuana has been an illegal “drug” in most countries. In today’s world a few countries have legalized cannabis while others are still progressing toward it. In particular, small amount of marijuana have been allowed in places such as Europe, North America and South America. In the United States in particular, states such as Washington and Colorado have also legalized the usage of marijuana for medical/recreational purposes. On the other hand, numerous penalties are enforced pertaining the use or possession of cannabis where it is not legal. The chance of the penalties being small are seldom; offenders often receive severe punishments. Possession of small quantities of marijuana is not punished the same way as possession of large quantities of other illegal narcotics. In this essay, there will be an in-depth argument on the reasons why cannabis should be legalized, and why it should not.

Did you know that almost half of the population in the United States belongs in jail, according to the law on marijuana? It’s true. In 2008 Time Magazine reported that researchers had found more than 42% of people surveyed in the United States had tried marijuana at least once (Lynch, 2008). So if marijuana use is so common in the United States, why should it not be legalized? In this paper I will discuss both the supporting and opposing positions on the legalization of marijuana. I will also explore the moral and ethical views for legalizing marijuana.

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;

One the many controversies in our country today, regards the prohibition of illegal narcotics. Deemed unhealthy, hazardous, and even fatal by the authorities that be; the U.S. government has declared to wage a “war on drugs.” It has been roughly fifteen years since this initiative has begun, and each year the government shuffles more money into the unjust cause of drug prohibition. Even after all of this, the problem of drugs that the government sees still exists. The prohibition of drugs is a constitutional anomaly. There are many aspects and sides to look at the issue from, but the glaring inefficiency current laws exude is that any human should have the right to ingest anything he or she desires. The antagonist on the other end

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.

Drug use is part of human nature, but the unimaginable wealth involved leads to the corruption of the police, judges, and elected officials. There is no reason to have the government regulating what goes into an individual’s body. An extreme case of what we’re letting the government do is letting them take away our own self, an individual’s ownership over his own body. I think it’s in everyone’s interest to legalize all drugs, since this war is going nowhere, letting