Drug Legalization
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Drug Legalization
Pros
"We are living in the twenty first century", "we are democratic people" and "we are moving toward globalization." These are common phrases that are commonly used by people and mostly our international leaders. Whether these statements are true depends on the listener and on the convincing power of the speaker. According to an analytical thinker, these statements are contradicting on the issue of drug use and drug legalization. As a fellow human and an American citizen, I believe in democracy and therefore the full measure of it. Democracy and freedom compliments and at the same time supplements each other. For us to claim that we are democratic people then we should apply the laws of democracy fully and therefore freedom is an essential requirement. If we respect freedom for all human beings then I do not see the reasons why the freedoms of a drug user should not be respected and if this is done drug use should be legal.
The more we make or declare drugs illegal the more we make them more attractive to the users and this makes the users to have no other options than to take the drugs in secret to avoid crossing the laws of the land. The 'keepers of justice' assume that they have eradicated the problem while in reality people are taking drugs under the cover of darkness. In this whole issue the drug users stands the risk of overdose or infections from sharing of injection equipment where the resultant consequences arising from this are severe and may cause death. If the government cares and respect the rights of every citizen to live then drugs should be legalized to prevent any case that might arise from drug related problem.
The country's economy depends on how we work and mostly on the quantity of work done by every individual. A country's economic development is the wish of every individual where both the government and the civilians look forward to the growth of the country's economy. People are created differently and therefore some will work better if they have a little of their favorite drugs in their system. On the other hand, others will work best in their neutral state and there is no problem about that but the main issue in this working situation is that we as the citizens and the government support the later category at the expense of the former. It is also important to consider that both categories of people are citizens and therefore they should participate actively in the building of the countries economy. For that reason, we should offer our support to both the drug dependent persons and the non-drug dependent persons. If the drug dependent people have our support then they should be allowed to use their drug as they wish and therefore drugs should be legalized.
Still on the countries economy and money matters the drug industry is a multibillion industry whose financial potential remains unexploited due to the controversy. In the world, there are certain regions that could do better with production of drugs as their main economic activity. The Caribbean islands are an example of countries that have no other form of economic activity and therefore they can do better by producing the commodity. If drugs were legalized then the governments would be able to control production and marketing of the commodity, which will mean an additional source of revenue. To the people in theses regions the problem of lack of employment will be no more since production of the commodity will provide them with a source of income. Still on the financial issue, the drug industry is under the control of cartels who exploit both the user and the producer and these results into conflicts. If the government has to control the industry financially then the trade should be legalized.
"If you can't beat them then join them" this is a common statement and it holds in this controversial issue. Just as nobody can defeat him or herself, neither the government nor the anti-drug campaigner will win war on drugs. Continued war between the two parties means a waste of time and resources; unending conflicts are also a result of the continued fight. America for example spent about $ 49 billion in campaigns against drugs in 1993 alone (Brown 629). This money could have been utilized in another sector of the economy productively. The only way that the issues can be resolved is by putting a halt at the war and giving dialogue a chance, the product of this negotiation should be legalization of the commodity.
Cons
Suppose drug use is legal then people would be free to use their drugs in public where in these places, there are different categories of people and the young children and the youth who would be included. The young people are the future leaders; this statement is often made to imply that we expect a lot from them. It is also important to note that these young people are easily influenced and therefore they are more likely to be lured into drug use than adults are. If we care about them then we should protect their future by reducing the influence. In order for this process to succeed then drugs and drug-use should be prohibited.
Crime remains as a major problem in most states especially in the urban areas and from experience drugs play a major role in contributing to crime and criminal activity. Making drugs legal will therefore contribute positively to increase in crime (Brown 629). For the authorities to solve this problem successfully they should begin from the root cause, which is use of drugs. From experience, people under the influence of drugs have little control about most of their decisions and therefore engaging in criminal activity comes as a direct result. Making the drug use to be illegal ensures minimal use that in turn minimizes the direct consequences like crime.
Prosperity of a nation depends on the health of its people and therefore a healthy nation is a prosperous nation. Drugs are a major cause of most diseases such as cancer, which is a major health problem that remains without cure where this problem is linked to use of drugs such as cannabis. The government has the responsibility of ensuring that its citizens lead a healthy lifestyle and therefore making drugs illegal is the best option.
Drugs are expensive to both the user and the government and therefore making them illegal is the best way of avoiding these expenses. Drug users spend a lot of money to purchase drugs and to take care of drugs effects such as illness. The money spent on drugs can be used productively through other ways like investing in education and buying food. On the other hand, the government spends a lot of money in its effort to control drug trafficking. If drugs are illegal then people will consider spending their money on more productive activities and the government will save the money it spends in controlling the use.