controversial and important issue. Drugs affect so many areas ofsociety.
“The U. S. population has an extremely high rate of alcoholand drug abuse” (Grolier). Several groups have formed and spoken outregarding their position. “Speaking Out Against Drug Legalizationis the first step in helping to deliver the credible, consistentmessage about the risks and costs of the legalization of drugs topeople in terms that make sense to them. The anti-legalization messageis effective when communicated by representatives of the FederalGovernment, but takes on even more credibility when it comes fromthose in the community who can put the legalization debate in localperspective” (Internet).
After learning about the issues regarding both sides of theargument, I would choose to support those who oppose legalizationof any drugs. Drugs simply create problems which effect society inseveral ways. The government has made several efforts to control drugsand their users, however, to most the problem appears too out of hand. “Others see potential profit in legalizing drugs and still otherssimply believe that individual rights to take drugs should beprotected.
The group also acknowledged that the legalization conceptappeals to people who are looking for simple solutions to thedevastating problem of drug abuse” (Internet). Society’s answer tothe problem is to trick the drug user by giving him what he wants. People believe that making drugs legal will take away the temptationto use them. This idea is wrong and far from logical. If drugs arelegalized then they will be more accessible to the young, addicted,and ignorant. “As a result the ready availability of addicting drugs, and asa result of their heavy use for medical problems, many individualsbecame addicted to the narcotics contained in these potent medicines.
In fact, in 1900, there were more narcotics addicts, proportionate tothe population, than there are today. At that time, most of the userswho became addicts were medical addicts. Very few abusers took drugsfor “recreational” purposes. In 1914, in an effort to curb theindiscriminate use of narcotics, the federal government passed theHarrison Act, making it illegal to obtain a narcotic drug without aprescription. During the 1920’s the Supreme Court ruled thatmaintaining addicts on narcotic drugs, even by prescription, was inviolation of the Harrison Act.
Some 30,000 physicians were arrestedduring this period for dispensing narcotics, and some 3,000 actuallyserved prison sentences. Consequently, doctors all but abandoned thetreatment of addicts for nearly half a century in the United States”(Grolier). The only resulting effect will be a negative one. There are nopositive aspects of putting drugs on the streets with a label reading”legal. ” There are plenty of people in society that find enoughtrouble on their own without the help of their country. Legalizingdrugs would have a devastating result that would affect society as awhole.
“Audiences need to understand that 70% of drug users areemployed, and that the school bus driver who drives your childrento school could smoke marijuana, that the surgeon who operates on youmay have cocaine in his system, and that the driver in back of you maybe on speed. The debate needs to demonstrate graphically how thecommon man will be impacted by drug legalization” (Internet). There is an idea that the “drug user” is a low class,unemployed junkie. This is untrue.
The drug user is often a whitecollared worker with a family and a future. They are not all dirtywith missing teeth and poor grammar. The common misconceptions of the”user” are dangerous to those members of society trying to rid theworld of the problem. “Drinking on the job is a social and economic problem with along history. With the growing popularity of illegal drugs in the1960’s and 1970’s, it was to be expected that their use in theworkplace would emerge as a major issue by the 1980’s.
Estimates ofemployee drug use vary greatly, ranging from 10 percent to 25 percentfor the proportion of workers who use drugs occasionally on the job. The safe performance of some occupations – among them, airline pilot,air traffic controller, truck driver, and physician – can becompromised by drug use” (Grolier). One of the greatest concerns of drugs is their contributionto the crime rate. Crime will always be a problem as long as drugsexist and are abused. “One category of crime is the victimless crime,which includes drunkenness, drug addiction, prostitution and gambling.
The use of the term victimless is an extremely qualified one. Itrefers to acts committed by consenting adults in private; the actsinvolve only the participants and are not harmful to others. If harmoccurs; it is inflicted only upon the willing participants. Victimlesscrimes are often characterized by the exchange of sought – aftergoods and services, and they generate huge amounts of illegal income. It has been argued, however, that no crime is victimless.
The drugaddict suffers physical and emotional harm and often commits propertycrimes to obtain money for buying drugs” (Grolier). Crime too often is the result of a drug problem. The crimerate would probably lower if drugs were illegal because the drugabusers wouldn’t need to steal to pay for their drugs. Legalizingdrugs would just add to an already rising problem.
“Compared with other countries that keep crime statistics, theUnited States has the highest rate per 100,000 population for reportedmurders, rapes, and robberies. It is important to remember, however,that the incidence of crime is influenced by such factors asindustrialization, urbanization, drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment,and the availability of fire arms” (Grolier). This should be reason enough to make all drugs illegal. Legalizing drugs will just feed the problem that teenagers and youngadults face daily. Making drugs legal makes them more conscienceaccessible and easier on the “The illegal use of psychoactive drugsis vast and extensive in the United States.
Some 70 million Americansage 12 and over have tried at least one or more prohibited drugs forthe purpose of getting high. The illegal drug trade represents anenormous economic enterprise. Sales of illegal drugs in the UnitedStates may have totaled $100 billion in 1986, more than the totalnet sales of the largest American corporation, and more than Americanfarmers earned from all crops combined. About 60% of the illegal drugssold worldwide end up in the United States” (Grolier). The problems that society already faces with the unemployed,homeless, criminals, and high school drop-out rate will simplyincrease.
What society would want such problems to escalate. Thethought of how seriously this could impact our entire nation is bothridiculous and terrifying. I strongly believe that there are a great deal of people whohave not tried drugs out of fear of getting caught. If this fear weretaken from them, they would probably become drug addicts.
As stated bythe National Commission of Marijuana and Drug Abuse, “The term abusehas no functional utility and has become no more than an arbitrarycode word for that drug which is presently considered wrong”(Grolier). I believe that our country should uphold a few basicstandards, and keep drugs and the problems they create out of oursociety. Legalization is an act of neglect and ignorance.
