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What Are The Arguments Against The Legalization Of Drugs

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The legalization of illicit drugs has been a popular topic of debate. While there is often concern about the potential toxicity and the habits that may form, drugs are not necessarily the problem. In fact, the legalization of illicit drugs may be the answer to some of society’s problems. More drugs should be legalized because the drug is not the cause of the problem, our behavior is. Also, when compared to other substances that are legal we see the same social ills arise. If drugs were legalized crime would also be reduced. There is often a stigma placed on drugs, and because of this it is often hard to see the benefits that may arise from the legalization of drugs. The drug itself is not the issue, instead it is our behavior and the …show more content…

deaths annually and cigarettes for over 400,000” (Hart & Ksir, 2015, p.27). Alcohol and tobacco account for more deaths than other drugs, yet they are legal. Again, a drug is only harmful if a person abuses it and uses it in a certain manner. In fact, there are many illegal drugs that could actually be beneficial to society, and we have seen that recently with the legalization of marijuana in some states. According to WebMD through a conducted study, “alcohol was found to be the most harmful drug to society” (Locke, 2010). Society tends to overlook alcohol as a drug simply because it is legal and can be freely purchased, but society fails to realize that this legal substance has shown to be more dangerous than many illegal drugs. “Alcohol, more than any illegal drug, was found to be closely associated with violent crimes, including murder, rape, assault, child and spousal abuse” (Wilcox, 2015). Society accepts alcohol because generally it is not looked at in a negative way, but when researched it is far more harmful than many of the illegal drugs out there. Drugs and crime seem to be heavily linked. “There are more than 1.5 million drug-related arrests in the United States each year” (Hart & Ksir, 2015, p.39). If more drugs were legalized there would be less crime carried out for the purpose of obtaining money. Due to the drugs being illegal many of these drugs are highly expensive and some drug users feel they have no other way to obtain money but to engage

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