Legalization Of Drugs example essay topic
Legalization of drugs will stop an enormous number of deaths and crimes. In addition, it will reduce the great amounts of money spent on enforcement and it will increase our country's revenue. On their web page the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states, "the costs of crime attributed to illicit drug abuse were estimated at 59.1 billion. These costs include reduced earnings due to incarceration, crime careers, and criminal victimization; and the costs of criminal justice and drug interdiction". It also estimates that the drug-related visits to the hospital emergency rooms have increased.
"In 2000,531,800 drug-related visits occurred, up slightly from 1999. More of these visits were due to drug overdoses". Based on this information it is not hard to realize that prohibition costs money, and lives. Far from decreasing, quantities are going up throughout the years. Legalizing Drugs would increase our economy's revenue. During Prohibition alcohol, use was continuing sold and used, but people were doing it illegally.
The 21st amendment repealed prohibition and alcohol taxes were increased. The same thing should happen with drugs. Drugs can be taxed heavily to increase our revenue. The same people who make aspirin so the quality would be assured, containing no poisons or adulterants, which often are causes of many deaths, would make drugs.
Sterile hypodermic needles will be readily available at corner drug stores. These could be taxed heavily because the users will be assured of "clean drugs". Meanwhile, the black market would disappear overnight. Some arrangement can be made to license the production of drugs.
Thousands of dealers would be put out of business, and a secret part of the economy would come into the open. This would have an impact on the amount of money flowing through criminal channels, and this might weaken organized crime. Alan Dershowitz in his argument "The Case for Medicalizing Heroin" mentions the fact that today's addict obtains his drug no matter what it takes, by knife or by gun putting in danger lives of innocent people. Addicts are regardless of the risk of acquiring a "fixed" drug which would be a mixture of poisonous substances.
Dershowitz says the solution is to "medicalizing" drugs. This concept simply means making legal and creating a strategy so that "the hard-core addict would receive the option of getting his fix in a medical setting, administered by medical personnel". This would prevent an overdose and the risk of that the addict would be selling or bartering the drug or prescription. In addition much of the desperation that today accounts for victimization of innocent people would be eliminated and drug-related crime would be significantly reduced. In the other hand, Sally Satel defends her position in her argument: "For Addicts Force Is the Best Medicine".
She Observes that forced treatment is a better solution because an addiction can be considered as a chronic illness that affects the brain therefore the ability to think right is diminished. Satel declares that evidence shows that treatment mandated by employers, or judges it is likely to obtain positive results. "It's a myth that addicts have to want treatment". She says, pointing that the solution is to keep enforcing addicts that are not convinced of what is better for them or fully interested on their own well being, to stop consuming those substances that only cause them harm. In conclusion, legalization of drugs will definitely stop an enormous number of deaths, will eliminate the sorts of crimes, bringing back security, harmony and peace to societies. It will save the great amounts of money spent on enforcement and not only that but also help our economy by creating revenue.
The war would end and the chaos would disappear. All it takes is a moment of reflection to find out the solution to our problems we can only find inside us.