Drugs have been a big part of our history dating back all the way to the 1800’s and beyond. We have to remember that drugs were first introduced as a form of early medication and its intent was to help cure things such as depression, headache, and used as a form of an anesthetic. The biggest downside of the medical drug evolution was the side effect of mass addiction. Although there was a problem with addiction the drugs still were very effective in helping cure many problems. Even with the addiction there were very few recorded problems with crime however. It wasn’t until they tried to put controls on the use of drugs that we began to see major criminal spikes in crime due to the trafficking of drugs illegally. America saw the same problems when they went to prohibition with alcohol. The pattern that is seen in the research that I have done points to there is no real difference between the problem with alcohol and the problem with illegal drugs. There is no doubt that there is a problem with the addictions caused by the effects of drugs but the same could be said about alcoholism and its effects on society. We have learned to curve the effects of alcoholism with education and DE glorifying it. We have also spent money on rehab facilities and since then alcoholism has decreased drastically, so why couldn’t we legalize drugs and do the same as alcohol. Even though the addiction that drugs create would possible create more problems than the fight against drugs itself, and the legalization of drugs has many issues that need to be worked out, I think it is in the best interest of the nation to look into legalizing them because we have spent billions of dollars in support of fighting the drug problem with little positive respons... ... middle of paper ... ...proxy.apollolibrary.com./docview/412617661 McNamara, Joseph D. (Nov 1, 1999) Vital Speeches of the Day 39-41. Drug peace – legalization research. Retreived from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/22146767 McClellan, Bill (05 Feb 1997: B. 1:1), St. Louis Post- Dispatch. Drug Legalization – Radical Today, Rational Tomorrow: Five Star Lift Edition. Retreived from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/403660394 Califano, Joseph A, Jr. 9 Mar 16, 1997): 7, Press the Escape key to close. America 174.9. Fictions and facts about drug legalization. Retreived from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/209691719 Reif, Wanda J., (August 14, 1999) The Lancet, A tangled history of America’s relationship with illegal drugs, retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/198997338
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.
A “drug-free society” has never existed, and probably will never exist, regardless of the many drug laws in place. Over the past 100 years, the government has made numerous efforts to control access to certain drugs that are too dangerous or too likely to produce dependence. Many refer to the development of drug laws as a “war on drugs,” because of the vast growth of expenditures and wide range of drugs now controlled. The concept of a “war on drugs” reflects the perspective that some drugs are evil and war must be conducted against the substances
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 proponents of drug legalization argue that although drugs can cause health and social problems, these are not sufficient reasons for making them illegal”(Trevino & Richard, 2002, p.105). The other main question that drug users raise are that alcohol and cigarettes both cause extreme harm but they are legal! “A study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports that alcohol abuse and alcoholism generated about 60% of the estimated costs ($148 billion), while drug abuse and dependence accounted for the remaining 40% ($98 billion)”(Trevino & Richard, 2002, p.92). Statistics show that there are more issues with alcohol abuse than drug abuse, but drugs are considered much worse in our
However, before the specific outcomes of Congressional influence and policy impact can be evaluated it becomes important to first review the general history and current situation of drugs today. Our present drug laws were first enacted at the beginning of the century. At the time, recreational use of narcotics was not a major social issue. The first regulatory legislation was for the purpose of standardizing the manufacturing and purity of pharmaceutical products. Shortly after, the first criminal laws were enacted which addressed opium products and cocaine. Although some states had prohibited the recreational use of marijuana, there was no federal criminal legislation until 1937. By contrast, the use of alcohol and its legality was a major social issue in United States in the early 20th century. This temperance movement culminated in the prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933. Recreational drug use, particularly heroin, became more prevalent among the urban poor during the early ?60s. Because of the high cost of heroin and its uncertain purity, its use was associated with crime and frequent overdoses.
PRESTON, Keith (2001). “The Political Economy of the War on Drugs”, Free Republic,. Online at: < http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b1106274d1b.htm>, March 30th, 2004.
I base my support of the decriminalization of all drugs on a principle of human rights, but the horror and frustration with which I voice this support is based on practicality. The most tangible effect of the unfortunately labeled "Drug War" in the United States is a prison population larger than Russia's and China's, and an inestimable death toll that rivals the number of American casualties from any given war, disease or catastrophe.
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.
be beneficial.” In: Scott Barbour (Ed.), Drug Legalization: Current Controversies. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000, pp. 102-108.
“[The war on drugs] has created a multibillion-dollar black market, enriched organized crime groups and promoted the corruption of government officials throughout the world,” noted Eric Schlosser in his essay, “A People’s Democratic Platform”, which presents a case for decriminalizing controlled substances. Government policies regarding drugs are more focused towards illegalization rather than revitalization. Schlosser identifies a few of the crippling side effects of the current drug policy put in place by the Richard Nixon administration in the 1970s to prohibit drug use and the violence and destruction that ensue from it (Schlosser 3). Ironically, not only is drug use as prevalent as ever, drug-related crime has also become a staple of our society. In fact, the policy of the criminalization of drugs has fostered a steady increase in crime over the past several decades. This research will aim to critically analyze the impact of government statutes regarding drugs on the society as a whole.
Tooley Michael, “ Our Current Drug Legalization: Grounds for Reconsideration,” Newsletter of the Center for Values and Social Policy, vol8, no. 1, Spring 1994. Rpt.in Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 1996. 385-89.
Cussen, Meaghan, and Walter Block. "Legalize Drugs Now!: An Analysis of the Benefits of Legalized Drugs." American Journal of Economics and Sociology 59.3 (2000): 525-36. Print.
Americans have been experimenting with drugs since the 19th century, it wasn’t until the 20th century that addiction and dependence started to become a problem that the country continues to try to deal with it today. Asian immigrants were associated smoking opium; crack/cocaine and heroin was associated with blacks; latinos and hispanics were associated with marijuana; methamphetamine in the 1990s was associated with homosexuals and poor white people. Racial tension against these unwanted groups and wanting them out of society has been what stirred up a major push for trying to get rid of these drugs. There is no denying that many of the laws that lead to the creation of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act were racially motivated. These drug laws have greatly decreased the use of drugs like crack/cocaine and heroin but prescription drugs are still an ever increasing problem.
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.
Recreational drug use has been controversial for years. Government has deemed the use of certain drugs to be dangerous, addictive, costly, and fatal. Governmental agencies have passed laws to make drugs illegal and then have focused a great deal of attention and money trying to prohibit the use of these drugs, and many people support these sanctions because they view the illegality of drugs to be the main protection against the destruction of our society (Trebach, n.d.). Restricting behavior doesn’t generally stop people from engaging in that behavior; prohibition tends to result in people finding more creative ways to obtain and use drugs. However, just knowing that trying to control people’s behavior by criminalizing drug use does not work still leaves us looking for a solution, so what other options exist? This paper will discuss the pros and cons about one option: decriminalizing drugs.