Legalizition of Recreational Drugs - Essay Example

?Legalization of recreational drugs Recreational drug regulation poses a challenge for the entire society. How can reprimanding a person for behaviorthat injures or harms only himself or herself be explained and justified? According to philosophy, current regulation on drugs is unjustified and that some drugs that have been made illegal are treated like alcohol or tobacco. Therefore, instead of criminalizing drugs, they should be made legal. The main argument for making drugs illegal in society is because of the harm inflicted on the second party. The use of drugs among people is not a new phenomenon. It has been part of human life. In fact, the Eskimos are the only people lacking tradition because they have been unfortunate to grow anything and wait for other people to bring them alcohol. The use of drug is justified in that it represents human appetite. The question of drug legalization either for medicinal or recreational value refers to whether or not people should be allowed to legally sell, buy, and use drugs for their own personal pleasure. Human beings have used psychoactive drugs as back as many centuries ago. Many drugs are produced naturally by plants and easily accessed by people in society where they grow. Therefore, recreational drugs should be legalized in society and stop criminalization of people. If recreational are not legalized, criminalizing this drugs will cause more harm than good since it will create large profitable industry which supply these drugs. In addition, it will increase level of crime in society when people try to finance habits of the users. Psychoactive drugs have been incorporated in social events such as celebrations, religious ceremonies, and rites of passage. When discussing the issue of recreational drugs, it is sensible to talk about the harm associated with these drugs. Drugs can be taken on regular basis with no ill basis but long-term exposure and intake of drugs is harmful. Majority of people die from drug induced causes such as organ damage, heart attack, and even overdose. In addition, there are some health risks associated with recreational drugs such as sexually transmitted diseases that arise from poor precautionary judgment (Clifford 44-49). Apart from the self-inflicted harm, there is harm that is caused to others in society such as increased crime rate from users who cannot control their system since drugs consumed inhibits their legitimate decisions. Theft and muggings are commonly associated with addiction and women who are under the influence of drugs would engage in prostitution without their own convictions to do so. Children born in families where parents are drug user’s end up homeless while family resources are depleted. The idea of selling and using drugs has both legal and moral issues. On one hand, if the government legalized the use of drugs in society, we can deduce whether application of such drugs is immoral or not. If the law allows an individual to engage or do certain things, it does not mean that the person should do it. On the other hand, even if use of drugs is not morally acceptable we can question ourselves whether the use of such drugs is illegal or not. The law has many flaws in that it allows us to do many things that are immoral such as saying lies to other people. These are some of the things that people should avoid morally; we do not tolerate situations where the laws command us on how to lead private lives (Clifford 52-53). The whole purpose and motive of using recreational drugs is for pleasure that they produce to the user. Search for pleasure comes natural to us as human beings. It is human nature that people are pleasure seeking and what makes life enjoyable is in pleasure of larger variety. There are pleasures in food, drugs, or romance. This way brain chemistry is altered in manner that provides unique pleasure to our body and through this; we seek what can bring pleasures in our lives (Clifford 55). Human beings seek pleasure in moderation, whereby pursuing pleasure is morally acceptable or permissible and it is something that we should do. Therefore, the pleasure people get in taking recreational drugs is so rewarding in that they should refuse any move to prohibit intake of drugs such as alcohol or marijuana. Use of recreational drugs is one of the many pleasures available to human beings and if certain moral acts such as escapism are permitted or accepted, then use of drugs should be legalized. The issue of moral duty to avoid injuring oneself was rampant in earlier years but it is less in modern society. As human beings, we are aware that some behaviors or actions are good for us than other people and we are all familiar with the pros and cons of living healthy life. For instance, exercising on daily basis and eating nutritious meals are good for us. All these things are good for us, it is difficult to conclude that we are immoral creatures when we ignore these things and engage in harmful behaviors. There is no true moral force behind responsibility to oneself other than personal understanding and conception of self-respect and that is outside moral penalty that other people might inflict on us. Today, peoples’ notion of morality is much more centered on how our actions or behaviors influence other people. Individuals may have moral duty to make healthy living choices but again it is centered on the idea that the family involved should not be burdened. Recreational drugs that are less addictive and harmful are morally permissible and should be legalized (Clifford 66). The main argument for this position is that drug use is a matter of individual choice so long as their intake or use does not infringe on other people. In society, individual should be free to make their own personal decisions even when their decisions or choices are self-destructive. Restriction may apply when individual actions are causing harm to other people in society. Most of recreational drugs such as Marijuana do not cause serious harm to the society but addictive ones may lead to negative impact on society. In addition, most people derive pleasure in recreational drugs that should be made available. Therefore, most of our decisions are based on assessing the balance of engaging in certain behavior with possible pains or outcomes of those behaviors. If the pleasure gotten is immeasurable then we give in to the risks involved. Some recreational drugs have been viewed as illegal by government but in real sense, they are of great help to the society. For instance, morphine a drug closely related to heroin was found to have medicinal value during civil war. It had pain-killing components in that it was later adopted as a medicine. Other drugs like cocaine and marijuana were used in migraine and insomnia treatment. These drugs were used in recreational activities while cocaine, which is widely criticized, was a common ingredient in soft drinks such as coca-cola. The war on drugs is not ethical because the desire to change ones mental state is an innate idea that cannot be changed by external force but rather internal force. People who take recreational drugs satisfy their drive and find life worth living. Therefore, if such people are provided with drugs that give them pleasure, then it is ethical because the purpose of human existence is to get maximum happiness. But in situation where the government want to make certain drugs illegal it will be infringing on the rights of certain people who derive their pleasure in taking drugs. According to Clifford (57-58), governments should legalize both medicinal and recreational drugs, as they are morally permissible. Selling of drugs for recreational purposes is not bad because what is important for the user is to avoid harming other people as they exercise their freedom. People are morally permitted to sell and use drugs but they must protect against the impact these drugs may have on behaviors of the users on other people. Drug merchants argue that it is not fair for people who are responsible to be morally judged for the actions of the irresponsible people. People who are addicts should not be condemned at any point until their behavior is harming others (Clifford 77-79). In the same manner, it is not right to condemn people who buy recreational drugs but until they infringe on other people. In order to effective control and regulate the markets of recreational drugs so as to make sure that they are only accessible to adults, drugs should not be prohibited but rather legalized. When drugs are prohibited and criminalized, sellers of these drugs go underground and therefore it is hard to control and contain them from selling drugs to people. When sellers are underground, it is easy for them to sell drugs to minors than adults. Legalization of recreational drugs will make them available to those who want them at low cost through authorized and licensed merchants. It is not logical to make moral judgment against all recreational drugs just because some individuals are infringing or harming others. If people buy and use drugs without harming others, then it is morally permissible for drugs to be legalized. In this manner, the government will be able to contain the risks associated with drug consumption. Philosophically arguing, drug prohibition is unethical because every individual has right to liberty, pursuit of happiness and life. Summarily, some people pursue happiness in their life by taking drugs; after strenuous day, they need to relax and enjoy themselves. Work Cited Clifford Harries. Applying Moral Theories. New York: Wadsworth Publisher, 2006. Print. Read More