Why Drugs Should Be Legal

Subject: Why Drugs Should Be Legal Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:59 pm

Why Drugs Should Be Legal

The whole point of making drugs illegal is to stop production of them and stop consumption of them. Since making them illegal fails to accomplish either we must accept the reality that drugs will always be a part of society. That being said we must decide the best approach to deal with the drug problem and I believe that is to make them legal. Is this such a radical idea when legalize drugs like tobacco and alcohol kill much more people that these street drugs combined.

Death Factor

Drugs being illegal create a black market for the products. This black market creates drug dealers all sorts from the petty street thug to the powerful drug cartels. It also creates an atmosphere of competition for the drug sales from rival street gangs that fight over tens of thousands of dollars to rival drug cartels that fight over millions of dollars. Countless people are murdered everyday due to this competition over drug sales. If drugs became legal all the violence produced by this would be eliminated.

Another death factor is overdoses. On average 4500 people die every year from overdosing on drugs. If drugs became legal people would have to take the drugs at the facility where they bought them. So if there happened to be an overdose, paramedics are on site to take care of them. In Vancouver, Canada they have set up a facility where people were allowed to come and shoot up heroin believing that if such a facility was provided to addicts that there would be less overdoses and spread of diseases from the needles. They had 150 overdoses at this facility with no reported deaths.

Economic Factor

Billions of dollars are made in the drug business. And all that money goes straight to criminals. If drugs became legal all of these drug cartels would go bankrupt just like when alcohol became legal after a period of prohibition in the 1920’s. All those billions of dollars would transfer from the pockets of criminals straight to the government. These drug cartels and street gangs would lose the majority source of their income which we all can agree is a good thing.

Also, billions of tax payer dollars are spent each year on drug enforcement. With drugs being legal the government could save all that money

Prison Factor

The prisons today are overcrowded, an estimation of 33% over capacitated, and billions of tax payer dollars are spent into building these new prisons. 60% of people in jail are there for drug related crimes. If drugs became legal a lot less people would be going to jail which would free up some space and save us money.

Our Rights

Who gave the government the right to decide what we can or can’t do with our bodies? As long as were not harming others, government doesn’t have the right to prohibit us from harming our bodies like we do with alcohol and cigarettes. And an argument people come up with is that if drugs became legal that our children wouldn’t know any better and there will be an increase in acceptance of harder drugs from the younger generation. To this I say is it the responsibility of the government to teach our kids right from wrong or is it the responsibility of the parents.

Safer Drugs

Drugs are bad for you. But some drugs bought on the street are mixed with other substances which make them much worse and can cause sudden death. If they became legal and controlled the drugs would be a lot safer for the addicts.

Stabilize Foreign Countries

A lot of countries like Mexico and Columbia are in turmoil due to their drug problem. The drug cartels run the country due to massive corruption and the threat of murder. Legalizing drugs would stabilize these countries and take the power away from the drug cartels.

The Ghetto

Drugs being legal would also help out the ghettos that suffer from their teens being attracted to the profits made by a drug dealer. A lot of young teens that live in poverty drop out of school to deal drugs because the money that can be made is very attractive. If drugs became legal a lot of teens won’t have the reason to drop out and sell drugs and the drop-out rate would decrease.

I know making drugs legal seems like a crazy idea but as seen here the pros outweigh the cons. Drugs being illegal gives the drug cartels all sorts of power due to the amount of money they make. Drugs being legal takes away all their power and money. Drugs being illegal creates violence and murder in these warzones that the police can’t control. Drugs being legal takes away all this violence and death. I can go on and on but you get the idea. Yes there is a chance of a slight increase in drug consumption once they become illegal but ask yourself, if heroin became legal would you use it? Regardless if drugs are illegal, if there is a demand there will be a supply. We then must find the best method to operate with drugs in our society and I believe that is to make them legal.