Should All Drugs Be Legalized - Essay Example

?Should All Drugs Be Legalized? Introduction In the controversial issue of whether drugs should be legalized or not, there are diverse factors that need to be considered before the most appropriate stance could be asserted. In the Debate.com website, it was revealed that more than74% responded in the affirmative to the question: ‘should all drugs be legalized?”; while only a meager 26% responded negatively (Debate.com, 2013). The major reasons of advocates for its legalization range from it being the most promising move to prevent drug abuse, eroding the black market for trade of illegal drugs, and asserting that prevention of legalization is more costly. On the other hand, those who violently oppose the legalization of all drugs contend that legalization would actually make “harmful, psychoactive, and addictive substances affordable, available, convenient, and marketable. It would expand the use of drugs. It would remove the social stigma attached to illicit drug use, and would send a message of tolerance for drug use, especially to youth” (Drug Watch International, 2001, par. 1). The current discourse hereby asserts that all drugs should be legalized to eradicate the costs of prohibition, to lower its prices, and to minimize repercussive violence that results from illegal trade and criminal activities that ensue from the sale and use. At the current status of governmental policies and regulations of restricting the sale and use of drugs, statistics have consistently revealed that ther are more incidences of addiction and costs to society All Drugs Must be Legalized The legalization of drugs would eradicate the costs of prohibition. As asserted by a Harvard University professor, Jeffrey Miron, the costs of prohibiting drugs are enormous. In the United States, for instance, it was revealed that “If it legalized drugs, the United States could save $85 billion to $90 billion per year. Roughly half that is spent on the current drugs policy and half that is lost in taxes that the state could have levied on legal drugs” (Miron, 2013, par. 4). This argument was likewise corroborated by Katherine Waldock, a professor of economics at New York University who, together with Miron, emphasized that “legalization would reduce state and federal deficits by eliminating expenditure on prohibition enforcement -- arrests, prosecutions, and incarceration -- and by allowing governments to collect tax revenue on legalized sales” (Ghosh, 2010, par. 8). As disclosed, the savings that would be generated from legalization would definitely outweigh the costs of prohibition. Likewise, by legalizing drugs, the black markets would be eliminated and therefore, the prices of drugs would significantly decrease (Drug Watch International, 2001). Birrell averred that “legalisation would replace the freest of markets that currently exists to the benefit of the world's most vicious crooks with a system in which supply is controlled, products regulated and profits taxed” (Birrell, 2013, par. 8). Thus, the elimination of the black markets would likewise eliminate absence of accountability and make the sale of drugs safer and more secure. Finally, if the prohibition or restriction of the sale and use of drugs are lifted, violence and drug-related criminal activities would be reduced, minimized or out rightly prevented. According to Vibes (2013), “the steady increase in violent crime over the past few decades is directly correlated with the escalation of the drug war” (par. 4). This was supported by Miron (2013) who emphasized that “prohibition leads to violence. By making a black market inevitable, you generate violence because the conflicts between the parties involved in the drug trade can't be solved by legal means within the judicial system” (par. 20). In fact, from the statistics disclosed by the U.S. Department of Justice, it was noted that “state and local law enforcement agencies made an estimated 1,336,500 arrests for drug possession or use in 2010” (Snyder, 2010, p. 11). In the UK, it was disclosed that stealing or acquisitive crime has been evidently related to drug use, to wit: “some research studies have found that a lot of acquisitive crime (stealing) is committed by dependent users of heroin and crack cocaine trying to pay for their drugs. Some show a high proportion of people arrested for a range of offences testing positive for drug use. It has been suggested that one third to over a half of all acquisitive crime is related to illegal drug use” (DrugScope, 2013, par. 2). Why Drugs Should Not be Legalized Those who oppose the legalization of all drugs contend that legalization would be more detrimental in terms of making drugs more accessible, easily available, and therefore, increasing greater tendencies for addiction. As a consequence, it was asserted that more criminal acts would ensue since the drugs’ impact on altering the brain have already been proven (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2007). As emphasized, “brain imaging studies of drug-addicted individuals show changes in areas of the brain that are critical to judgment, decisionmaking, learning and memory, and behavior control” (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2007, par. 14). In addition, organizations such as the Drug Watch International have actively opposed legalization since they argued that black markets and illegal trading activities would not be eliminated. The organization has contented that “legalizing drugs will not eliminate illegal trafficking of drugs, nor the violence associated with the illegal drug trade. A black market would still exist unless all psychoactive and addictive drugs in all strengths were made available to all ages in unlimited quantity” (Drug Watch International, 2001, par. 6). Conclusion The current policies and restrictions have apparently not been effective in controlling substance abuse and addiction. By restricting and prohibition, human instincts of being more keen on using and purchasing something illegal is deemed more active and makes buying illegal drugs more alluring and exciting. As such, by legalizing all drugs, people would soon be accustomed to their ready availability that no amount of effort should be exerted to locate them in unscrupulous places. Likewise, the benefits of legalizing all drugs in terms of cost savings in prohibition expenditures, as well as in potential increases in tax revenues for drug trade are greater for the economy. The important thing to emphasize is with legalization, appropriate regulations in monitoring trade and use should be equally instituted to ensure maximized advantages to the citizens, as well. Reference List Birrell, I., 2013. Legalising drugs would be the perfect Tory policy. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/19/legalising-drugs-logical-tory-step [Accessed 15 May 2013]. Debate.com, 2013. Should all drugs be legalized?. [Online] Available at: http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-all-drugs-be-legalized [Accessed 15 May 2013]. Drug Watch International, 2001. Position Statement Against the Legalization or Decriminalization of Drugs. [Online] Available at: http://www.drugwatch.org/Against%20Legalization%20of%20Drugs.htm [Accessed 15 May 2013]. DrugScope, 2013. How much crime is drug related?. [Online] Available at: http://www.drugscope.org.uk/resources/faqs/faqpages/how-much-crime-is-drug-related [Accessed 15 May 2013]. Ghosh, P., 2010. The pros and cons of drug legalization in the U.S.. [Online] Available at: http://www.ibtimes.com/pros-cons-drug-legalization-us-246712 [Accessed 15 May 2013]. Miron, J., 2013. Harvard Economist: Legalizing Drugs Suits Ideal of American Freedom [Interview] (1 March 2013). National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2007. Topics in Brief: Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. [Online] Available at: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/topics-in-brief/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction [Accessed 15 May 2013]. Snyder, H., 2010. Arrest in the United States, 1990-2010. [Online] Available at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/aus9010.pdf [Accessed 15 May 2013]. Read More