Drug Legalization Essay Research Paper Should Drugs

Drug Legalization Essay, Research Paper

Should Drugs Be Legalized In America.

As the nation’s drug problem persists, issues continue to haunt communities. The question is will legalizing drugs really help or will legalization make problems increase in our society. If drugs remain illegal, a number of complications that could appear as a result of legalization will never occur. Keeping drugs illegal poses a lesser problem than legalization. Drugs should not be legalized not only because legalization is bad for the country but also because it is morally wrong.

Several problems would result if drugs were legalized. First, if drugs were to be legalized, they would be cheaper than they cost now. If they were cheaper, then the drug dealers would be pushed out of business. Apparently this looks like a good thing, but once drugs are cheaper, then more people will experiment and as a result of this become addicted. William Von Raub, a drug analyst, states .People start using drugs because they want to experiment..[therefore]..legalization could result in four to five million new drug addicts. (qtd. in Kronenwetter 60). A high increase of experimentation will occur as a result of a decrease in prices, and therefore there will be more drug addiction. Making drugs both legal and affordable will produce higher levels of use. Such was the case in the seventies: a high level of heroin was being used due to its abundance. As supplies diminished between 1973 and 1975, the prices increased, and heroin usage decreased. This proves that once drugs are cheaper more people will use them. Therefore, drugs should not be legalized. The Phoenix House, a cocaine treatment center, reported that there were fewer addicts as the price of cocaine increased. Also, if drugs were legalized and prices were cheaper, then it would be very difficult for users to control the amount of their intake each day. As McCuen says, .Legalizing is no solution”.

Pro-legalizers say that because the prices are so high for drugs, users need to steal and cheat. Their theory is that if drugs were legalized then the rate of crime would decline because there would be fewer robberies. However, according to a British study, drug abusers do not commit crimes just to buy drugs; there also are other reasons in effect. In Britain, in the mid-seventies, addicts received free heroin from a government clinic. The test was to determine whether the users would continue to steal or stop because they didn.t need the money to buy drugs anymore since they were getting it free. The results indicated that they were convicted of crimes other than robbery while enrolled in this free drug program (McCuen 178). A study conducted for The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (NCASA) at Columbia University in January 1998 reported that, .49% of state inmates convicted of violent crimes were under the influence of drugs during their crimes, 51% of state inmates convicted of property crimes were under the influence of drugs during their crime. (.Family.). The fact is, the crimes that most drug abusers commit are due to behavior caused by drug usage and not a result of needing money because of high drug prices. So, it cannot be said that addicts commit crimes only in order to obtain money to buy drugs. Rather, it is because they are using drugs which leads them to abnormal behavior. This proves that crime is more correlated with behavior due to drug usage than the need to rob or cheat for drugs. The NCASA also found that 80% of prison inmates (1.4 Million) have histories of behavior problems due to the use of drugs (.Family.). This means that they high when they committed their violent or property crimes. Henceforth, the pro-legalization theory of crime decreasing when the drugs are cheaper is incorrect.

I agree that legalization would cut down on some theft and robbery, but drug-associated crimes will never be eliminated completely. What about the muggings and burglaries that junkies would commit when they need more drugs, even when these drugs are cheaper. The drugs are not free, just cheaper. In addition, if drugs become cheaper and it is easier to get them, then there would be more violent crimes committed by those who are high on drugs because more people will be high.

If drugs were legalized, that would make them available in the local pharmacies. This would confirm the belief that drugs are harmless. But they are not. In America right now the biggest drug issue is legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Pro-legalizers talk mostly about medicinal marijuana. They always refer to the US Department of Health and Human Services finding on August 18, 1999; which discovered that .Medicinal marijuana does not lead to increased non-medical marijuana use. (.Marijuana.). When asked about the results, Chuck Thomas, Director of Communications for the Washington D.C. based Marijuana Policy Project, said, .Today’s findings should dispel the myth once and for all that medicinal marijuana sends the wrong message and leads to increased non-medical marijuana use. (.Marijuana.). This finding sends the wrong messages to adolescents today. The consequences of medical marijuana misinformation could be devastating. What.s most frightening is that it will increase adolescent use that has been climbing since 1991. Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control Strategy (ONDCS), anticipates, based on pas