With several states legalizing marijuana comes a renewed argument over whether legal drugs is a good idea. There are people on both sides of this hot button issue, but the fact remains that there are both pros and cons to making currently illicit drugs legal. Drugs are all over the place, from small towns to huge cities so governments are smart to consider both sides of the issue before going forward with legal action. In this research paper, I will present the good and bad that surrounds drug legalization so you can decide which side you are on.
Many studies and research papers have outlined the dangers of using drugs. That is the primary reason why people who want drugs to stay illegal feel that way. Using many kinds of drugs leads to health complications and addiction. Addiction is considered a mental illness and is often very hard to treat. It has a high relapse rate and alters a person’s entire life, from his job to his relationships.
Government officials feel that legalizing drugs would undo all the hard work that’s been done on the war against drugs. Statistics show that these efforts have helped reduce the percentage of people using drugs. Should those drugs become legal, the problems that were faced could grow. According to some, drug use is a social problem that abandoning it due to legalization would be akin to abandoning efforts to improve education and reduce poverty.
In addition, there are people who feel that legalizing drugs would increase the number of people with addictions. Those addictions affect more than just the person who is suffering. Attempts to legalize drugs in the past, including a 19070s effort in Alaska, usually causes an increase in the number of people who report being addicted to some kind of drug or another. When drugs are easier to come by, the price tends to drop, which gives more people the chance to try them and perhaps become addicted.
For those who feel that legalizing drugs would eliminate the black market, experts say may not be the case. If drugs are legalized, they are only done so for adults. That means that children under age 18 would still have to gain access to drugs using illegal measures. That would mean the crime that people feel would go away would still be there.
On the other hand, there are many people who feel that legalizing drugs would be beneficial. People on this side of the issue feel that making drugs legal would end the war on drugs. Without the black market, crime would theoretically drop because people would be able to get the drugs they want without having to commit a crime to get it. When it’s not against the law to buy or sell drugs, the rate of crime will go down and that would keep more people out of the prisons.
In addition, there’s a theory that legalizing drugs would be beneficial for the cities and towns as well because it can be taxed, which creates revenue. That money can be used to repair roads, maintain government buildings and improve the overall quality of life for the residents.
Additionally, there are health experts who maintain that using certain drugs in their pure form is not as harmful as many would like you to believe. When drugs are illegal, they can be cut with dangerous substances before being sold, but when they are regulated for legal sale, they are generally safer to use occasionally. In some cases, certain drugs have shown promise as a viable way to treat health conditions. For example, marijuana can help with people with glaucoma.