Persuasive Essay On Prohibition Of Drugs

Meet Aaron Short. A 26 year old average male who lives with his beloved mother, father and little sister in Hoppers Crossing. Young and in love. Making plans for the future. As perfect as this life sounds, Aaron’s happiness is not so clear cut. In August 2015, Aaron experienced a tragic relapse in his addiction to heroin. It was this drug that took Aaron’s life in a fatal overdose later that month. What is even more heartbreaking is that Aaron is not alone. Aaron joins thousands of other Melbournians who are stuck in hopeless drug addictions, with limited resources available to save their lives. So what can be done even begin to tackle such a problematic and sensitive issue? It starts with a trial. A trial for a supervised drug injecting room in Melbourne. As concerning as this may sound, if we want to save the lives of helpless victims, reduce criminal activity and protect our community, we must keep an open mind and unite as a community to urge the government to introduce a trial.

In life many people struggle with problems, and instead of them addressing the problem their way to get their mind off of it is by abusing drugs that gets them to stop thinking about it. These people often struggle with this on an everyday basis and it is killing our society little by little. Many people are dying everyday due to opioids and everyone as a community should help put a stop to it!

The systematic scheduling of drugs in the United States is arbitrary which leads to a discriminative social injustice. Some psychedelic substances such as Psilocybin are schedule 1 drugs, while alcohol and nicotine are legal. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) both alcohol and nicotine are proven to be harmful and addictive (2017). Conversely, Psychedelic substances have not been proven to be addictive. This equates to a social injustice that discriminates over someone who may prefer the effects of psilocybin to nicotine, even under the science that has shown nicotine and alcohol have a higher potential for abuse. Unfortunately, many political factors come into play regarding the legal status of drugs and industries such as the pharmaceutical, tobacco and alcohol industries, who harbor the most money and have an influence in the legality of drugs whether they are safe or not. While legalizing psychedelic substances would most likely cut into profits for these large industries they would bring about economic benefits as well.

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).

Just Say No.” This phrase was uttered in 1982 by Nancy Reagan, the first lady of the United States, in response to a schoolgirl’s question of what she should do if offered drugs (Weinraub A5). These words became the slogan for a nationwide substance abuse prevention program that followed the then recently enacted drug policies intended to discourage the manufacture, sale, and use of illicit drugs in the United States. These zero tolerance policies carried harsh penalties and strict enforcement for all drug related offenses. Almost four decades later, these policies are still in effect, as is their focus on criminalization as a means to reduce the availability and usage of drugs. Their ineffectiveness is evidenced by the facts that drug use rates have remained steady over the past four decades and incarceration rates have exponentially rose during that same period. I believe that a new course of action should be taken, and a bold new drug policy should be enacted. Decriminalization would result in a substantial decrease of the prison population, relieve the unnecessary burden that has been placed on our criminal justice system, shift the paradigm from drug enforcement to drug treatment, reduce the health risk of HIV, AIDS, and heroin related deaths; and provide unprecedented benefits from the regulation of the manufacturing and sales of substances that are currently illegal.

A controversial subject many Americans are constantly at battle over is legalizing drugs. Some experts have the opinion that drugs should be legalized for medical treatment, and for help with severe illness. Other experts argue that this will have a bad effect due to overdosing and addiction, and also the adverse affect on teens. I do not think that drugs should be legalized but they should allow people with serious medical conditions to use these illegal drugs. Legalizing drugs would only create and even bigger drug abuse situation, and especially for juveniles. Legalizing drugs would also create the question of what to do with criminals who are already incarcerated for this offense. There are surveys, which give statistics on crime, and how crime rates are affected by the use of drugs. For example, there is one survey called the “National

“We all have an interest in making sure teens grow up healthy and drug free.” – John Walters

From “Just Say No to Drugs” programs in elementary schools to minimum sentences for drug crimes, America has tried to contain its usage of illicit substances. The goal of anti-drug programs and policies are to deter people from using and abusing drugs. On the other side of the country’s schizophrenic relationship with illicit mood-altering substances, drugs can be found in most communities in America, from sketchy side alleys to upper class neighborhoods. When drug policies are pondered, several main questions arise. (1) Are drug laws helpful, do they accomplish the goals they aim to? (2) How do we as a society treat those who abuse drugs; are addicts criminals? (3) What are the costs/benefits, social, financial and otherwise, of our current

It is also possible that drug users are irrational decision makers and might not understand the adverse long-term effects and addictive properties. Prohibition should reduce demand through legal penalties; however, since not all drug users are rational choice makers, demand can increase by creating a “forbidden fruit” effect. The consequences of increased use add to the complexity and costs of enforcement on both drug users and the general population. Drug users, trying to avoid the legal consequences of their use, often times interact with non-users in ways that are harmful and costly. Additionally, non-users are also impacted by increased taxes to pay for the enforcement, by regulations to check for drugs that take time and are inconvenient, and by becoming innocent bystanders that can get caught in the middle of attempted arrests, often with deadly affects.

Appearing in the 1970s, a campaign was introduced to forward the prohibition of drugs and reduce the large illegal drug trade. Dubbed the "War on Drugs", this movement has been unsuccessful. In a study produced by The International Centre for Science and Drug Policy states that "prices of heroin, cocaine and cannabis decreased by 81%, 80% and 86%, respectively, between 1990 and 2007, whereas average purity increased by 60%, 11% and 161%, respectively." Despite active government involvement, there will always be a demand of drugs in America. Legalization of these substances will end issues brought up by the War on Drugs, bring new economic opportunities, and reduce the prison population.

Drugs are a major influential force in our country today. The problem has gotten so out of hand that many people are even considering legalization of one of the most used drugs, marijuana. The legalization of marijuana is a controversial issue that has been fought for and against for several decades. Marijuana is defined as a preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant, which is usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria and to heal and soothe. (dictionalr.com)

Oregon has spent countless amounts of time and money  trying to prevent the use of illegal drugs and has since faced many repercussions in doing so, leading to higher drug use, racial profiling , higher incarceration rates and overall a waste of taxpayers money. The implementation of Oregon’s House bill 2355 decriminalized hard substances like methamphetamine. This was done in response to  Methamphetamine use skyrocketing over the past few decades as a result of the United States inadequate drug policies.

So many people condemn their doctors for medication addictions, according to Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN, “Most of the blame, however, belongs on the shoulders of the American doctors themselves,” but is there others who are at fault? Doctors aren't the only ones who should be blamed for prescription drug abuse or addictions. Doctors are supposed to help people, but they are put into quandary about choosing who they help, because they are uncertain whether their patient is a drug addict. Some addicts will go far enough to fuel an addiction by dissimulating that they have chronic pain, and doctors wouldn’t be capable of determining if a patient is truly having internal pain, therefore the doctor would chiefly give the benefit of the doubt and would prescribe them to a medication. Also, patients should be au fait with medication, instead of just taking it and accusing doctors for a possible outcome of them abusing or becoming addicted to medicine.

People are beginning to wake up and realize that drug prohibition is an utter failure – a waste of time and resources, at the very least. Yet, not everyone is quite convinced, thanks to decades of propoganda, hear-say, and misinformation. From an outsider's perspective, it's quite easy to empathize with people that genuinely think drugs are a gateway to darkness and despair, with the statistics of violence and criminal activity, potential dangers that come with drug use, and social stigmas, that run amok in society.

Drug addiction is a complex problem in society today. Addiction is a condition that extremely affects the person’s mind and body. Addiction also has wide sweeping effects on that person’s social connection and functioning. Unfortunately, many addicts don’t realize the social influence of their addiction until much of their functioning has greatly deteriorated.