Why We Should Decriminalize Recreational Drugs

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

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

The fact that the United States treats drug use as a terrible crime instead of treating it as a physical problem or illness, and the drug problem is still not going away, shows that the United States is going about drug abuse all wrong. The United States has over 25% of the world's incarcerated population and over half of those are in prison for drug abuse/distribution. Other countries have decriminalized drugs and have seen an extremely positive difference in the drug abuse problem. Therapeutic drug treatments can be offered as an option to drug abusers so they feel safe and not afraid or angry of what is happening. The United States needs to find a new policy on drug abuse because the current policy has failed.

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).

The United States of America is losing a major war: the war on drugs. And it is time for us, as a nation, to admit our country’s drug laws are doing more harm than good. The fight against drugs is not as effective as it was originally envisioned. Both the federal government and states have taken extreme measures and enforced strict laws to keep our cities and neighborhoods free of drugs. However, it is time for a change. And I believe this change should start by settling the conflict between federal and state drug laws. The federal government should decide all drug laws nationwide and give less say to the individual states. With that being said, I think the federal government should legalize recreational marijuana use nationwide and lessen the harsh policies enforced and severe punishment for recreational use of other drugs.

Strict prohibition needs to end, and we need to adopt a more lax policy like decriminalization or legalization. These have been both shown to help in fixing the aforementioned problems that the United States currently faces because of the war on drugs.

I believe that the United States federal government should decriminalize all drugs and narcotics in order to stop wasting taxpayer dollars on excessive and expensive federally funded imprisonment, and to turn the issue of drug consumption back into a health issue, as opposed to a legal issue. The Unites States government is well known for having a massive and expensive prison system, widely populated by citizens incarcerated for nonviolent drug crimes. A legalization of drugs in American would drastically reduce crime rate and federal prison expenses. The drug issue, as we know it today in the U.S. is misclassified as a legal issue. With drug legalization, consumption of narcotics would become much safer, as addicts and users would be treated

Since the day weed was discovered, it has been used more times than not, recreationally. A wide variety of successful people have used marijuana, including presidents like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, actors such as Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston, talk show hosts including Oprah Winfrey and Stephen Colbert, and even athletes like Lebron James and Michael Phelps(Reilly, Huffington Post). It is estimated that about thirty million Americans have used marijuana(Ossola, Popsci). The current drug laws on marijuana are hurting Americans more than helping them, legalizing the recreational use of marijuana would benefit the United States in more ways than one.

Drug laws apply on state and federal levels. In federal circumstances, “convictions are from drug trafficking” and in the states, it’s for “drug possession.” The federal punishments are longer sentences and harsher punishment while the states place the arrestee is charged with misdemeanor and is put on probation, short jail term, or a fine. However, in court, if the criminal pleads guilty, they keep a clean criminal record and take a prescribed substance abuse program…vacated…and [18 months later] the accused can claim to never have been arrested or convicted of a crime. This is a law, or more of a procedure that should change. If a person has committed the act in having some relation to drug usage and adheres to it, their record should provide that information for later use in other drug cases.

Should all drugs be legalized? Suppose that someone has some life threatening illness and suppose that a drug that has not yet been approved by the FDA can cure this illness. Should he have to die just because some government bureaucrat tells him that he cannot have this drug? There are millions of AIDS patients in similar tragedy. The two most harmful and dangerous substances are alcohol and tobacco. Yet, they are legal, only because they are popular. Marianne Apostolides of the pro-legalization Lindesmith Center wrote in the Wall Street Journal: "Marijuana is safer than other substances such as nicotine and steroids. Most people who use marijuana have no problem with it." “The question about legalized drugs is the defining point for a Libertarian. If you are opposed to legalizing all drugs, then you are not a Libertarian, by definition.” Sam Sloan But if we analyze did alcohol use decrease when it was legalized? Answer is No. When abortion became legal, did abortions decrease? No. When an action becomes legal, the number of people carrying out that action increases. Drugs are not different Drugs Abuses, Crimes and Legalization Crimes will also not be reduced by drug legalization. Studies show a correlation between drug use and crime - violent crimes such as homicides, assaults and domestic violence. Why is this? It's quite simple - drugs cause violent behavior. In actuality, crime will rise when drugs are legal because more people will be taking drugs. Crime is high

It seems that drugs should be legalized because, “the existing evidence suggests that net costs

80-90% of all inmates are incarcerated due to drug related crime or robbery to help pay for their drugs that they owe money on. For these inmates dealing with drugs is something very normal in their lives. Drugs being involved in prisons is also something that is very similar to the world. Prison guards find an inmate trying to smuggle in drugs at least once a week. As seen on Orange is the New Black in many episodes in season 2 and 3 the inmates smuggled in tobacco for cigarettes and Nicky got in heroin. So if they are doing it in the TV shows you know it’s a common thing happening in the real world. What is happening with drugs in prisons now, how are the drugs getting in, how its being stopped, and how the inmates lives in and outside the prison walls are being effected with drugs are some of the most questioned topics dealing with this important topic. Drugs effect prison life by not only the inmates but the guards as well. The job changes everyday because somehow drugs keep getting in in all different ways.

Clean playing field/ Money costs/ Control and regulate safety standards/Cleaner Drug/ Athletes ahead of the game