The Link between Capitalistic Values and Drugs That Have Been Assigned as Illegal

The use of what are now considered illegal drugs date back as far as 300 BC in many different places of the world. Historically, it has not only been criminals that used illegal drugs. Drugs were used for many things including medicinal purposes, spiritual enlightenment, rituals, as well as for recreation. They were also used by many different cultures, age groups, and social classes. There was a time when the only thing around to alleviate physical pain either from illness, injury, or even during the process of dying were some of these drugs. There were no illegal drugs in the United States until the mid-nineteenth century. This is an essay on 12 of these illegal drugs individually as reported on in the History Channels documentary “Hooked, Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way”.

In sociology, the definition of a drug is “any chemical substance that has a direct affect on the user’s physical, psychological, and/or intellectual functioning” (“Drugs” 3). According to this definition, many people may argue that the United States is a pro-drug society because of its legalization of alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals, however I believe that the United States is an anti-drug society. Although the United States has legalized tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals, there are many drugs that are still illegal. It can be assume that these illegal drugs they are dangerous and somehow poses a threat to society, but its illegalization has more to do with economics and power more than anything else. According to the film, “A Marijuana

My team and I evaluated a case where legalizing drugs would bring a greater happiness to society and that a small population of drug users would get addicted. We believe that legalizations on hard drugs would lead to bad behavior and a spike in addiction rates. Specifically, on drugs like Alcohol, Cocaine, or Heroin, etc. As what Jeremy Bentham would say, “It is the greatest good to the greatest number”. We want everyone to be happy by having a healthy society and peaceful world. My group follows Bentham’s utilitarianism theory which it benefits the society. Making drugs illegal would benefit society as hole. Legalizing drugs would terminate families, increase crime, and money, health would take a sudden decline.

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

The article ‘Drugs’ by Gore Vidal was written in order to pace forward a tough case for legalizing all types of drugs in United States of America. He tends to explain the basic human philosophy and the chronological happenings to bring forward this obstacle. First and foremost he brings into front three main arguments concerning the usage of drugs. He deems and strongly claims that by making the drugs illegal does not help to obstruct the drug addiction or trafficking infact they give rise to such activities. Moreover, he endows with the reasons as to how the process of legalization would assist to prevent drug addiction and seize such activities from the face of

Introduction - Use of psychoactive substances for recreational purposes is not a radically new social issue. In fact, history tells us that almost every society had their own pharmacopeia of herbs, potions, and substances that not only contributed to healing, but also allowed the user to escape reality (Schules 1992, 4-5). However, it is the contemporary use of psychoactive drugs purchased through illicit or illegal channels and used by persons neither prescribed nor in quantities larger than necessary that defines modern drug abuse (Robins 2006). Prior to World War I, substances like morphine, heroin, and cocaine were available in the major American cities, particularly those with active international ports. For instance, when Chinese immigrants were first imported to work in the mines and railroads during the early 1800s, they brought opium to America. It was the leisure class, who began to experiment with this drug, and, as in Europe, many major U.S. cities had so-called opium dens. In addition, there were a substantial number of "society women" who ended up addicted because their doctor prescribed this drug to deal with female histrionics or to "cure" an excessive sexual appetite (Johnson 2002). Within major cities, this problem began to spill over into other groups: prostitutes, child laborers, orphans, and even men and women of lower social classes seeking to escape the harshness of their lives (Courtwright 2002, 3-19). Between the widespread use and general

As a major policy issue in the United States, the War on Drugs has been one of the most monumental failures on modern record. At a cost of billions of taxpayer dollars, thousands of lives lost and many thousands of others ruined by untreated addiction or incarceration, America's policy orientation concerning drug laws is due for reconsideration. Indeed, the very philosophical orientation of the War on Drugs and of the current drug policy in the United States has been one of prosecution and imprisonment rather than one of decriminalization, treatment and rehabilitation. As our medical and scientific communities characterize addiction as a disease, the United States government continues to characterize this disease as a crime. And in doing so, it has created an unnecessary criminal class in the United States. The research, supplemental political cartoons and proposed research will set out to prove that stiffer drug laws will only have the impact of criminalizing countless drug addicts who might otherwise benefit substantially from rehabilitation and other treatment-based strategies. With a specific focus on the prohibition of marijuana even for medical use, and using the Toulmin model for putting forth and completing the argument, the research will set out to demonstrate the irrational

Medication mishandle—of licit and unlawful medications alike—is a major medicinal and social issue and draws in a considerable measure of research consideration. In any case, the most alluring and most effectively fundable research points are not generally those with the most to add to enhanced social results. In the event that the logical exertion gave careful consideration to the significant open doors for enhanced strategies, its commitment to people in general welfare may be more prominent. The ebb and flow look into motivation around tranquilize strategy focuses on the science, brain science, and humanism of drugtaking and on the current collection of medication control intercessions. Be that as it may, that collection has just

The war on drugs began during Nixon’s administration in 1968 and was designed in efforts to reduce the amount of drugs being sold and consumed in America (Moore & Elkavich, 2008). Nixon believed that getting drugs out of the hands of people would make the country a safer and better place, however these new drug laws did not reduce the amount of drugs being consumed or distributed. Instead, these laws incarcerated a large amount of people and have resulted in a continuation of inequality in our country. While Marx would argue that the war on drugs prolongs inequality through class conflict because it targets low class individuals, advantages upper class communities while disadvantaging the poor communities, and it makes the cycle of class differences continue, Wells-Barnett would argue that the war on drugs perpetuates inequality through its racism because it was created in response to colored people using drugs, it targets black males, and the sentencing varies based on whom the drug is linked to.

An Overview for Substance Abuse, is an article that focuses on whether the use of any kind of substance is recreational use or is it classified as abuse. The purpose of the article is to inform people on whether they are abusing the substance or not. The article lists the most common illegal drugs used and also tells you what legal drugs are addictive. Some of the information is to tell you how many people in the world is addicted and how many people got help. The article talks about why our country has put laws on this situation and it is because of our society. The information for the article was gathered from The World Health Organization, John Hopkins Medicine Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration,

The response to drug use in America and in some countries around the world seems to have an interesting history. As the author Daniel Patrick Moynihan describes the unintended consequences society faces when government does not deal effectively with issues of drugs in society. He provided several references that shows the historical and present connections to government interrelations and how many of these decisions have some form of negative impact and at times causes social breakdown. His historical reference to drug uses, medicinal properties as well as technology role in our present age does paint a vivid picture of how government decisions can affect us. Since

The War on Drugs has become an epidemic today afflicting United States and the United Nations; which are swayed by global drug laws which preserve the criminal justice system. These new laws promote an ineffective policies on the war on drug. Therefore, communities are locked while the promotion of illicit drugs becomes the dominate framework to organized crimes. Today, the war on drugs continues to be an ongoing battle within our society. This paper will examine these issues focusing primarily on historical struggles controlling our society. Improvement must be lenient punishment policies based on the relevance and/or risk of these psychoactive drugs.

There always seems to be debate on whether the decriminalization of drugs would be of great public interest. It is a very important and controversial issue that has many people wondering if legalizing drugs would be a right move or not. In the article, “Decriminalization Would Increase The Use and The Economic and Social Costs of Drugs” by David Mineta, Mineta argues about why drugs should not be decriminalized and how keeping illicit drugs illegal outweigh the possible negative consequences of legalizing these substances. Mineta himself writes that, “Our position is simple and evidence-based: both decriminalization and legalization of illicit drugs would increase their use, along with their associated health and social costs” (Americas Quarterly). According to Mineta the decriminalization of drugs will only allow more people to become addicted causing more health and social costs because seen as they will be more widely used. (Americas Quarterly)

The book that I read “This is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret of Getting High in America by Ryan Grim” tells us the stories and relationship among Americans, their drugs and the government, which is a drug literature. The book and author will give us a tour in an illicit world of drugs use in the United States. The Americans dilemma of love-hate relationship with psychotomimetic substances extended from the nations commencing until the present time.

In pre-modern times, drugs took on a role of medicinal use. As they were distributed in a free market without any constraints, Opium was recommended for sleepless nights, Cocaine for anesthesia, Hashish for relaxation (Hart, Ksir & Ray). These drugs were not dubbed as harmful, therefore, under the appropriate circumstances, provided beneficial effects to its users. More recently, individuals are more inclined to use drugs as an ‘escape’. Stimulants provide a sort of alternate existence which tends to reduce mental tension, increase energy, or induce euphoria (Hart, Ksir & Ray). Argumentatively speaking, drug use only affects the user, so there is no valid reasoning for impairing the freedom of citizens by prohibiting them. Individuals benefit by having the freedom to use