The Pros And Cons Of Drug Legalization

The question of whether or not marijuana should be legalized for recreational and medicinal use has been a three decade long conversation. There are many pros and cons to legalizing marijuana. There are many different ideas about the effects of marijuana, but as with any drug answers are going to vary depending on the person you survey. Age, health, and mental stability are all factors to consider how a drug can positively or negatively affect you, and marijuana is no different. To be legal or not to be legal is the million dollar question up for debate.

In the past forty years, the United States has spent over $2.5 trillion dollars funding enforcement and prevention in the fight against drug use in America (Suddath). Despite the efforts made towards cracking down on drug smugglers, growers, and suppliers, statistics show that addiction rates have remained unchanged and the number of people using illegal drugs is increasing daily (Sledge). Regardless of attempts to stem the supply of drugs, the measure and quality of drugs goes up while the price goes down (Koebler). Now with the world’s highest incarceration rates and greatest illegal drug consumption (Sledge), the United States proves that the “war on drugs” is a war that is not being won.

Before we begin our tour of the drug war, it is worthwhile to get a couple of myths out of the way. The first is that the war is aimed at ridding the nation of drug "kingpins" or big-time dealers. Nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of those arrested are not charged with serious offenses. In 2005, for example, four out of five drug arrests were for possession, and only one out of five was for sales. Moreover, most people in state prison for drug offenses have no history of violence or significant selling activity.5

Before 1937, marijuana was freely bought, sold, grown, and smoked in the United States. Since that time, all of these activities have been illegal, but many groups and individuals have fought to decriminalize marijuana. The congressional decision to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug in 1970 has made the legalization campaign more difficult, since it officially established marijuana as a dangerous, addictive drug with no medicinal benefits.

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.

Even the U.S. is considering loosening up on drugs right now, over half of americans support marijuana for its recreational and medicinal purposes, it’s already been legalized in two states so far, setting up legalization for more states in the future (Huey). Huey also claims- “Drug reformers nationwide continue to argue that legalization will free up more resources to fight harder drugs, deny traffickers billions of dollars in profit, and generate tax revenues for prevention and treatment through state-controlled marijuana sales” (Huey). If there are more resources to fight harder drugs than funds used only to punish minor drug felons, there would be a lot less problems with the prison system and inmate

The war on drugs is a movement that had started in the 1970s and is still evolving from today. Over the years, people have had mixed reactions to the campaign, ranging from full-on support to claims that it has racist and political objectives. People who are affected by drugs are the people you use them and have gotten addicted to the substances that they started using for medical or recreational purposes. The war on drugs has many challenges attached to it but there are five possible solutions that can hopefully end the war on drugs.

According to Kristof (2009), the legalization of drugs is another solution to drug trafficking. With drugs more readily available, at lower prices and higher levels of potency many law enforcement personal and politicians favor legalization of drugs. While other experts favor keeping drug production and sell illegal, but decriminalizing possession. Either way if it is legalize it must be regulated. According to Kristof (2009), the United States have inquired three consequences due to the failure of “The War on Drugs”, increased population in jails, empowered criminals and terrorists, and squandered resources that cannot be replaced. With that said, why continue down a road were the drug problem is not getting resolved. Before drugs were prohibited, usage levels were lower among cocaine and heroin users, and states with legalized marijuana have not seen an increase in consumption, according to Kristof

For many people, the thought of making drugs easily accessible for consumption by the masses may be frightening. After all, we have drug laws in place because they have the potential to be harmful. It also may not be difficult to imagine that it could very well be subject to failure due to a numerous amount negative externalities that may occur. Our nation has been engaged in a war on drugs for several decades now. The effectiveness of this war, however, is a topic that has continuously been debated. Some argue that universal legalization of drugs, an alternative that has never been tried, may have a greater benefits when compared to the present state of the war on drugs. On the other hand, the opposition believes that legalization would only pave the way for a vast amount of crime and many wasted resources.

“The war on drugs is being lost on a daily basis,”- Rhys Ifans. The war on drugs is an ongoing battle that the United States has been fighting for many years. Many people believe that drug abuse and addition is only a recent problem, but this is far from the truth. Not only is drug addiction a problem today, but it was also a huge problem in the late 1800’s all throughout the 1900’s. Many of the drugs that were abused throughout history started off as over the counter medication, this is why the war on drugs is such a hard battle to win.

The War on Drugs, like the war on Terrorism, is a war that America may not be able to afford to win. For over forty years the United States has been fighting the War on Drugs and there is no end in sight. It has turned into a war that is about politics and economics rather than about drugs and criminals. The victims of this war are numerous; but perhaps they are not as numerous as those who benefit from the war itself.

Since the 1960s, State and federal law enforcement have become more focused into putting an end to drug use. Each year, crimes related to drug use has increased, making the government spend tens of billions of dollars arresting, convicting, and jailing drug users. Because of this ongoing problem, the government can’t help but to wonder “will this ever end?” and “Should we stop fighting?” With these questions being raised about a problem so conflicted, The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branch have different views and opinions regarding the Drug War’s Standpoint.

However, the most terryfying thing about all this is average age of drug users. According to NIDA – National Institute on Drug Abuse - teenagers first trie drugs at the age of 13 – 16 and the main reason for that is peer pressure. Presently, it‘s not very easy to get drugs for teenagers, but due to easy availability of drugs , if they would be legalised, they could get it from older friends, who would be able to get drugs legallly. If drugs would be legalised, danger to get addicted to drugs for young individuals would increase and that would be a disaster. Youth is the future of humanity, whereas drugs legalisation would destroy their future even before they start living. Drugs lead world to social and medical catastrophe.

“ We realize that drug addiction is a sickness, but it is also a crime” according to Pam Bondi. As we all know drug abuse is a big problem that is not often discussed. The reason we do not discuss it because we tend to hide things that cause a mad image or problem in our society. But the issue is much bigger. The legalization of drugs would improve many things such as how the government would have control over its cost and sales, the decrease of crime rates and the way we treat the people in our community who seek help.

The “War on Drugs” is the name given to the battle of prohibition that the United States has been fighting for over forty years. And it has been America’s longest war. The “war” was officially declared by President Richard Nixon in the 1970’s due to the abuse of illegitimate drugs. Nixon claimed it as “public enemy number one” and enacted laws to fight the importation of narcotics. The United States’ War on Drugs began in response to cocaine trafficking in the late 1980’s. As the war continues to go on, winning it hardly seems feasible. As stated by NewsHour, the National Office of Drug Control Policy spends approximately nineteen billion dollars a year trying to stop the drug trade. The expenses shoot up, indirectly, through crime,