Essay On Decriminalization Of Drugs

1144 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Should drugs be legalized

The current drug situation within the United States has led individuals to question whether drugs should be legalized and to what extent. The War on Drugs in 1971 was the first push to fight against the booming drug epidemic, although many believe that it has gone too far. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 46.2% of inmates in prison as of last month were there because of a drug offense while major crimes such as assault and homicide were only a mere 3.3% (BOP 2018). This occurrence in our prison system has led to a push towards the legalization of drugs by some while others stand strongly to keep the current legislation. Many individuals believe that there should be minimal intervention in the citizen lives to allow individuals to make their own decisions …show more content…

I do not believe that all drugs should be legalized although the extent to which legal action is taken should be changed. All drugs should be decriminalized, which would significantly change the prison population statistics where we don’t have over 75,000 individuals in prison due to a drug offense. Although there should be some type of fine or other consequence for the possession and use of certain drugs and to determine which drugs are illegal should be based on the mindset it causes for a person. Drugs that affect behavior and cause a decrease in functionality of a person to the point where they are in a mindset to harm others and unable to function in society should deem the drug illegal while drugs such as marijuana should be illegal because there has been no evidence against it that is causing harm to others or even death for those who partake using. Therefore, as a whole I believe to an extent there should be legalization of drugs but those that can put other individuals in society at risk should remain

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast The Liberal And Liberal Views On The War On Drugs

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Alcoholics Anonymous

    1641 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The History of Hemp or Cannabis, Marijuana, Weed, Pot

    1725 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ld expand our coutnry. I believe that it is unnecessary to have such strict laws against a plant that could benefit the country more than it is hurting it. Marijuana does not have any reports of violence because of use of the drug, but violent crimes have been committed because of drug cartels and gangs. If the laws against marijuana were lifted, there would be less violent drug crimes because access to marijuana would be easier. It has been proven that more violent crimes are committed with use of alcohol than there are from use of marijuana. Our president recently even stated that he does not believe that use of marijuana is any more dangerous than Alcohol. After researching this topic, I feel that more people today are coming to a realization that marijuana use is not dangerous and that our country would actually benefit from the legalization of cannabis.

    Read More

  • The Federal Government Must Decriminalize Marijuana

    2430 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lately it seems that drug policy and the war on drugs has been in the headlines quite a lot. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the policies that the United States government takes against illegal drugs are coming into question. The mainstream media is catching on to the message of organizations and individuals who have long been considered liberal "Counter Culture" supporters. The marijuana question seems to be the most prevalent and pressed of the drugs and issues that are currently being addressed. The messages of these organizations and individuals include everything from legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, to full-unrestricted legalization of the drug. Of course, the status quo of vote seeking politicians and conservative policy makers has put up a strong resistance to this "new" reform lobby. The reasons for the resistance to the changes in drug policies are multiple and complex. The issues of marijuana’s possible negative effects, its use as a medical remedy, the criminality of distribution and usage, and the disparity in the enforcement of current drug laws have all been brought to a head and must be addressed in the near future. It is apparent that it would be irresponsible and wrong for the government to not evaluate it’s current general drug policies and perhaps most important, their marijuana policy. With the facts of racial disparity in punishment, detrimental effects, fiscal strain and most importantly, the history of the drug, the government most certainly must come to the conclusion that they must, at the very least, decriminalize marijuana use and quite probably fully legalize it.

    Read More

  • Drug Policy

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    The business of buying and selling drugs comes with high transactions costs. The dealer cannot risk being caught or scammed so he buys a gun to defend himself from the police and other dealers. The buyer of the drugs does not to be killed for his money if the dealer gets greedy so he buys a gun for himself. Now we have two people that if it came down to it, would kill for their crack rocks. Also, if a buyer got a bad crack rock or got less than he paid for, he cannot go the police or file a complaint. He must take matters into his own hands resulting in violence. If drugs were legalized, they would be safer in the sense that the crack-head that needs his daily crack rock would not have to deal directly with dangerous drug dealers and criminals and risk getting shot for his money. Instead, he can go down to the local “drug store” and get his drugs safely.

    Read More

  • Legalizing Marijuana Will Decreased Crime

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Marijuana Prohibition: Origins and Modern Impact

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prohibition: the act of forbidding or outlawing something. When you hear prohibition you often think of the 1913 prohibition and the 18 and 21 amendments. Often we don 't think of prohibition in the terms of marijuana. Original propaganda was formed by the director of Bureau of Narcotics Harry J. Anslinger whose persistent actions and manipulation lead to the rise of the prohibition. Harry spread the belief that marijuana was a devil’s weed that would make you go insane and on a killing frenzy; inevitably you would go to jail. With such a frightening menace to society the Marijuana Tax Act was passed in 1937 with no scientific study, public debate, or political objection (Grass). We all know this fear mongering was untrue. Now in modern times

    Read More

  • Should Drugs Be Decriminalized?

    1650 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of Drug Legalization

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    Almost every person in the United States has their own opinion on drug legalization. There are many different pros and cons to the legalization of the drug. Drug legalization is also an ethical and moral issue. Should drugs be legalized or not? While I think drugs should be legalized, many others disagree.

    Read More

  • Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

    1629 Words  | 4 Pages

    Against Marijuana Legalization Should Marijuana Be Legalized? In society today, many people look for a feeling of freedom. Many people go on vacation and spend money. The most common escape for people is drugs. Our American society is facing a tremendous drug problem.

    Read More

  • Decriminalizing Drugs

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    The current drug epidemic in the United States has been the deadliest in American history and is not going away anytime soon (Lopez, 2017, The opioid epidemic, explained). In 1971 President Richard Nixon introduced the War on Drugs in effort to counter the current drug epidemic at that time. Despite unsuccessful results I decided to look for more efficient and effective methods to solve such an epidemic. Results were collected in a recent survey which helped gather public opinion and what path the United States should follow when it comes to countering such a problem. It is important to listen to public opinion and through a survey is one of the best ways to gauge such information. This paper will analyze

    Read More

  • Why Drugs Should Be Legal

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Legalizing recreational drugs does not mean making drugs accesible to all people. The drugs that are legal today, alcohol and tobacco (nicotene) aren’t available to just everyone; they are regulated. Only certain people are allowed to buy them. Since the drug trade is unregulated, drugs are sold anywhere they can be (e.g. schools), allowing children to have access to them. If these drugs were illegal, than that trade would stagnate, and children wouldn’t have such easy access to them. It makes sense… do you ever see people in schools selling beer or cigarrettes? Also, the usual cause of drug overdose is the fact that a person cannot know the potency of the drug he/she is taking. There are no standards because the trade of drugs is illegal in the first place. If they were legal, there would be a standard of quality for all drugs, regulated by the FDA.

    Read More

  • Anti-legalization of Drugs

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    Drugs Should Not Be Legalized. " Greenhaven Press. 65-92 Riga, Peter J. " " Legalization Would Help Solve The Nation's Drug Problems.

    Read More

  • Decriminalization Of Drugs Research Paper

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bretteville-Jensen, Anne Line. "To Legalize or Not To Legalize? Economic Approaches to the Decriminalization of Drugs." Substance Use & Misuse 41, no. 4 (2006): 555-65. Database online. Available from EbscoHost.

    Read More

  • Drugs Should Not Be Legalized Essay

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Essay On Decriminalization Of Drugs

Open Document