Drugs Legalization Essay, Research Paper

Although it is clear that society is unhappy with current efforts to stop

illegal drug smuggling, illegal drug use and distribution, no one seems to know

what should be done. With drug use and drug related crime on the rise, some

Americans argue that current drug law is too easy on drug offenders. Society at

large asks, "Can we ever stop illegal drugs and their use?" It is a

question that unfortunately has no easy answer. More and more people in America

feel that if this country cannot stop illegal drugs, drugs should be legalized

and controlled. Many people feel that this will eliminate the senseless violence

that often goes hand in hand with illegal drugs. Although moral issues collide

head to head with the idea of legalizing drugs, it seems legalization is the

answer to the problem, but it is this proposed solution that has society

divided. People often blame the criminal justice system for not doing enough to

catch drug offenders and incarcerate them. At times they feel that if the

problem is out of their sight, it disappears. The truth is that even if the

justice system locks up every drug offender, the problem is not solved. Even

inside jails and prisons, drug offenders continue their illegal sales and drug

use. The fact that drugs are still used and sold in correctional institutions is

evidence that building more prisons will not stop America’s drug problem (Ostrowski

28). The call for legalization or decriminalization is not new, but until

recently, the legalization issue was carried by only a few proponents, including

libertarians, advocates of separate treatment of marijuana, and some cautious

economists. Most advocates of drug legalization justify their position on great

evidence that criminalization under current policies simply have not worked.

They also point out the inconsistencies of banning some mind-altering and

potentially addictive substances, while allowing others, mainly tobacco and

alcohol, to be produced, sold, and consumed freely. Advocates for legalizing

drugs point out the similarities between the war on drugs and Prohibition, the

nation’s other widespread experiment disrupting a wealthy industry in

mind-altering substances. Some critics of the war on drugs say the drug issue

has been clouded by the failure to distinguish between the health problems of

drug abuse and addiction and the broader effects of a! legal ban on drugs (Nadelmann

84). Politicians are also challenging current drug control policy. Former

Baltimore mayor, Kurt L. Schmoke, called for a nationwide debate on the

legalization of drugs and for the first time ever, drug legalization was the

subject of congressional hearings in September, 1988 (Morse 117). The supporters

of drug legalization emphasize that not all barriers should be removed to allow

free access to dangerous substances. Just as the individual states regulate and

restrict the sale of alcohol by age and location, steps could be taken to keep

dangerous drugs such as heroin and cocaine out of the hands of children. A

regulatory setting might also be tailored to make it harder to obtain cocaine

and heroin, for example, than to buy marijuana. The war on drugs has been a

lightning rod for both political and cultural controversy, with critics and

supporters scattered all across the country. Despite the moderation of the

Clinton administration, many Americans now believe that America’s drug policies

are not working and that a new approach may be necessary. It is clear that

prohibition is not the answer, but before Americans start talking about fixing

the problem, they must agree on what is broken.

Ostrowski, James. "Has the Time Come to Legalize." USA Today

Magazine 119 1990: 27-30. Morse, Stephen J. "War on Drugs Produces the

Crime." Los Angeles Times 08 Apr. 1991, sec.2: 7. Nadelmann, Ethan a.

"U.S. Drug Policy." Foreign Policy Spring 1988: 83-108.