Drugs an option that hasn’t gotten achance

Drugs an option that hasn’t gotten achance

Drugs are a major influential force in our country today.The problem has gotten so out of hand that many options are beingconsidered to control it or even solve it. Ending the drug warseems to be a bit impossible.

The war on drugs seems to beaccomplishing a lot but this is not true. Different options needto be considered. Legalization is an option that hasn’t gotten achance but should be given one. Although many people feel thatlegalizing marijuana would increase the amount of use, marijuanashould be legalized because it will reduce the great amounts ofmoney spent on enforcement and it will increase our country’srevenue. There are also many benefits that can be uncovered tohelp people if legalization of marijuana is given a chance. Legalizing marijuana would increase our economy’srevenue.

During Prohibition alcohol use was still sold and used,but people were doing it illegally. The 21st amendment repealedprohibition and alcohol taxes were increased. The same thingshould happen with drugs.

Marijuana should be taxed heavily toincrease our revenue. Marijuana and other drugs would be made bythe same people who make aspirin so the quality would be assured,containing no poisons or adulterants. Sterile hypodermic needleswill be readily available at corner drug stores. These could betaxed heavily because the users will be assured of “clean drugs.”Making drugs legal will reduce the great amounts of moneyspent on enforcement every year. Drug dealers and users are onestep ahead on the enforcement process.

If one drug lord iscaught, another one will show up somewhere else. We cannot win.”In 1987, 10 billion dollars were spent alone just on enforcingdrug laws. Drugs accounted for about 40 percent of all felonyindictments in the New York City courts in 1989. This figure isquadruple what it was in 1985.

. Forty percent of the people infederal prison are drug law violators” (Long 114). One can onlyimagine what this figure would be like today. Too much money iswasted on a cause that seems to be no end to. “In 1989, aRepublican county executive of Mercer County N.

J. estimated thatit would cost him as much as 1 billion dollars to build the jailspace needed to house all the hard-core drug users in Trentonalone” (Long 128). All of this money could be used on betterthings.By lifting the ban on marijuana use and treating it likeother drugs such as tobacco and alcohol, the nation would gainimmediate and long-term benefits.

This change in the law wouldgreatly improve the quality of life for many people. Victims ofglaucoma and those needing antinausea treatment, for example,would find marijuana easily available. Also, the cloud ofsuspicion would disappear, and doctors could get on withinvestigating marijuana’s medical uses without fear ofcontroversy. In the essay, “Drugs”, Vidal states, ” Neverthelessmany drugs are bad for certain people to take and they should betold why in a sensible way” (321-322).

It might become possibleto discuss the dangers of marijuana use without getting caught upin a policy debate..Meanwhile, the black market would disappear overnight. Somearrangement would be made to license the production of marijuanacigarettes. Thousands of dealers would be put out of business,and a secret part of the economy would come into the open. It isdifficult to say whether this change would reduce crime becausecriminals would probably continue to sell other drugs. But itwould have an impact on the amount of money flowing throughcriminal channels, and this might weaken organized crime.

The legalization of marijuana would benefit the federalbudget in two ways, the federal revenues would increase, becausemarijuana cigarettes would be taxed at the point of sale. Inreturn, the companies that make the cigarettes would also payincome taxes.. Second, there would be a reduction on the amountspent on law enforcement efforts to apprehend and prosecute usersand sellers of marijuana. The drug enforcement authorities mightreduce their budget requests, or, more likely, focus moreintensely on hard drugs and violent crimes.

The courts would berelieved of hearing some drug cases, as well.The most important gain would be in the quality ofgovernment. The sorts of temptations and opportunities that leadto corruption would be significantly minimized. The illogicalpattern of law enforcement, which now treats marijuana as moredangerous as alcohol, would end. It would set more achievablegoals for law enforcement, and this would lend strength andcredibility to the government.In the essay “drugs,” Vidal states, “It is possible to stopmost drug addiction in the United States within a very shorttime, Simply make all drugs available.