The legalization of drugs has been an enormous issue in politics for an extremely long time. Many people believe that the legalization of drugs will allow the government to gain more control and therefore reducing crime on the streets. Another issue in this matter is that the government will be able to profit money off the drugs and be able to control prices and what age you will have to be to be able to buy the drug.
On the issue of less crime, with the government controlling drugs there will be fewer drug dealers on the streets, as there is no need for them. The ban on underage people using drugs will lessen the crimes by minors and by students in our schools. With the government regulating the drug, they can readily control how much is sold and how much is appropriate for consumption by the buyer.
In addition, the government could profit off the legalization of drugs. If the government were to legalize drugs, then they could choose the prices of the drugs and how much or if they want to place a tax on them. With the government doing this, people would be paying higher prices than what they currently pay from a dealer. This would, in turn, reduce the demand for the drug due to the high prices. The money that the government makes off the taxing and the pricing of the drugs could go to health care or to another good cause that support the citizens.
However, it seems we will never see the legalization of drugs. Many people go out and do things just because the authoritative figures say you shouldn't do them. In other words, certain people merely break the law not to experience the drug, but to be a rebel. The legalization of drugs would most likely cause the use of drugs to decline.
Legalizing the use of soft drugs would help bolster the U.S. economy, partially because the government would have the ability to tax these drugs. This includes marijuana used for medicinal purposes, which, according to a 1995 article in The Journal of the American Medical Association, can “counteract the toxicity of chemotherapy, treat migraines, minimize pain, and treat moderate wasting syndrome in AIDS patients.” The economy would also benefit from the legalization of drugs because fewer drug offenders would crowd the prisons, and the government could spend the money they saved from this reduction in prison populations on other public expenses. With drug busts running at 750,000 cases a year nationwide, (mostly for marijuana,) prisons are bulging, and those imprisoned for drug-related crime account for only a fraction of America’s drug users. In Elliot Currie’s essay, “Toward a Policy on Drugs,”...
Drug use has been an ongoing problem in our country for decades. The use of drugs has been the topic of many political controversies throughout many years. There has been arguments that are for legalizing drugs and the benefits associated with legalization. Also, there are some who are opposed to legalizing drugs and fear that it will create more problems than solve them. Conservatives and liberals often have different opinions for controversial topics such as “the war on drugs,” but it is necessary to analyze both sides in order to gain a full understanding of their beliefs and to decide in a change in policy is in order.
So long as people continue to use illicit drugs, the drug trade and all the problems that go with it will continue. This fact has led to an enormous debate as to whether legalizing drug use will reduce the problem. Many think that, if drugs were legalized, this would take the profit out of the sales, and reduce the drug cartels’ ability to generate the revenues necessary to conduct their operations. Legalization of drugs also would enable the U.S. government to tax the sale of drugs, and to use those revenues for programs designed to help stop people from using them. That debate, however, is the subject of another civics presentation.
The argument over drug reform and the current prohibition has been going on for years. It seems to be an argument between a wise parent and a young teenager, but as generations change more and more of the parents seem to switch sides. While prohibitionists say the mainstream drugs like cocaine, heroin, LSD, and marijuana are harmful and immoral, legalizers argue the opposite (Rachels 223). While they are both valid and interesting arguments the drugs named above still remain illegal. Many organizations and respected citizens have come to America’s attention in their support for drug reform or complete legalization of certain drugs. These people range from normal citizens who support the recreational use of marijuana to judges and ex- law enforcement agents who say the war on drugs has been a failure. The drug issue in the United States of America has been going on for years with the counterculture of the sixties up until the more recent medicinal marijuana debates today, and it seems that it is not going to go away anytime soon.
Over the years, drug abuse has been a rising problem in almost every country in the world. Day by day more people are involved in this endless cycle of drug craving, money shortage, and drug related crimes. Congressmen and politicians of United States, seeing this unstoppable crime wave which is about to spread throughout the country, begin to address various kinds of possible solutions to end this crisis in the most efficient and effective way. As discussed in Alan M. Dershowitz's "The Case for Medicalizing Heroin" and Charles B. Rangel's "Legalize Drugs? Not on Your Life," the most popular proposition set forward by growing number of leaders now is to legalize the use of drugs; but will it help solving the problem or make it even worse? I agree with Rangel that in order to end drugs abuse completely, we have to find the root of the problem and use any forces necessary and retain the determination to keep on fighting because it will not be an easy battle.
Drugs will even become safer for those who are willing to use them. Government regulations on drug quality will make the drugs more pure, and potent, taking the harmful additives that some drug makers put in. Like cigarettes, warnings would probably be posted on drug packages stating “The use of crack may be harmful to your health.” As well as on windows of the stores that sells the drugs. An age limit to buy drugs would probably be 21. Clean, sterile needles would also be provided to heroin users and stop the spread of diseases such as AIDS from contaminated and dirty needles.
Many feel today we are loosing the war on drugs. People consider legalization unnecessary. They feel that it will increase the amount of drug use throughout the world. They state that in many cases, drug users who have quit quit because of trouble with the law. Legalization would eliminate the legal forces that discourage the users from using or selling drugs. They also say that by making drugs legal, the people who have never tried drugs for fear of getting caught by the law will have no reason to be afraid anymore and will become users (Potter 1998).
Just say no? This is not exactly the philosophy that the vast majority of the United States population tends to follow. Drugs have become a routine aspect of everyday life in the United States. Neither a gigantic metropolis nor a minute town have gone without feeling the everlasting effects of drugs. Drug use has always posed a major dilemma for America to overcome. The banning of illegal drugs takes many back to the days of the Prohibition problems involving the banishment of alcohol. Prohibition obviously did not work in the 1920’s, and some modern day people feel that making drugs legal would solve the constantly rising drug problem. In his article Facing up to Drugs: Is Legalization the Solution?, Pete Hamill presents both sides of the argument very thoroughly. Using tremendous techniques in both writing and in major points, the author persuades the reader to give a great deal of consideration to the author’s belief that legalization is the answer to America’s drug problem.
...opulation by legalizing drugs and letting them go. On the other hand, some of them might go back to their criminal life. There is no doubt that legalization of drugs would push criminals out of the drug business, but it will not make them leave their criminal life. Also it will be really hard for an ex-criminal to get a legal job. So, they will just chose some other form of criminal life. So legalizing drugs will have uncertain effects on violence reduction.
After reviewing the two outlooks on drugs, paternalism and liberty, I believe the argument for liberty is more philosophically sound. While I do not believe full blown legalization is the best idea for our society, I do believe the utilitarian point of view on drugs is the best compromise. Friedman argues that the war on drugs is too costly, and that the best solution would be just to decriminalize them. With the process of decriminalization, it will lower street crime, sale to minors, and outlaw the advertisement of drugs. Instead of informing the public about how bad drugs are, I believe decriminalizing them would educate the public on what they would be taking and if it really a good idea to put that in their body. Bennett and Wilson fight
In today’s society one of the most controversial issues is on drugs. Drugs has always been around since decades, now many drugs have become a daily use for many people in society. Drugs have also had an evolutionary history, certain drugs were used for different purposes and throughout time these drugs started to expand to different countries. One of the most common drug that everyone is familiar with is marijuana. Marijuana in past decades was used for medical purposes, and later became a form of smoking substance. There are different drugs that have changed over time because people have made them change to be used for different purposes. All of the changes that have been made to many drugs has created it into a controversial issue.
...fects to one’s health or society as a whole. According to the simple model of supply and demand, decriminalization will lead to increase in consumption as well an increase in the supply. And since decriminalization does not lead to a market regulated by the government, the black market will continue to profit with none of the benefits going back to the government. Furthermore, by decriminalizing marijuana, the government is sending the wrong message to society. For example, people who were hesitant to try it due to the legal risks involved would be curious enough to try it as the legal risks have reduced to 0. And because the chemicals involved in marijuana are addictive, there is no given that the user would stop consuming it right away. Instead of decriminalization, the government should focus more on preventative measures rather than encouraging its consumption.
Drugs will always be there, and people will always use them. It is just a matter of reducing and benefiting from it by legalizing it. If drugs were legalized they should be consumed in a controlled environment, not anywhere else. With that being said you can't go out and sell it, give some to dealers, commit a crime while high, nor be a threat to the public. Then I thought, there will still be illegal drugs roaming around because the dealers need money; but they cannot grow or make a profit from their businesses, because if the consumers want to purchase some marijuana they would buy it where it is legal. Thus, the dealers would go out of business trying ...
The state of Georgia has the highest excise tax on liquor of any state. It also has the lowest tax on gasoline (which is good especially now with gas prices the highest ever). If drugs were legal, the government could place such an excise tax on them. In addition to freeing up money used for their prohibition, this extra money could fund the real problems of America, and eliminate our national debt quite quickly.
It is important to be informed of what we are defending, and in this case it is to not legalize drugs. One may ask, what are drugs? Drugs are chemicals, that may affect your body in many different ways, whether it be good or bad. However, most of the time, it 's not always a positive outcome. Some drugs even leave lifetime damage to your brain and body. Although, there are many different ways to take drugs, some of the most common ways are; inhalation, ingestion, and injection. All three ways, however affect the body differently. You don 't always know what you are ingesting or injecting and even inhaling. Most of the time, because drugs are illegal, they are sold through drug dealers