Should Drugs Be Legalized? Essay, Research Paper

For several decades drugs have been one of the major problems

of society. There have been escalating costs spent on the war against

drugs and countless dollars spent on rehabilitation, but the problem

still exists. Not only has the drug problem increased but drug related

problems are on the rise. Drug abuse is a killer in our country. Some

are born addicts(crack babies), while others become users.

The result of drug abuse is thousands of addicts in denial.

The good news is the United States had 25,618 total arrests and

81,762 drug seizures due to drugs in 1989 alone, but the bad news is

the numbers of prisoners have increased by 70 percent which will cost

about $30 million dollars. Despite common wisdom, the U.S isn’t

experiencing a drug related crime wave. Government surveys show

between 1980 – 1987 burglary rates fell 27 percent, robbery 21 percent

and murders 13 percent, but with new drugs on the market these numbers

are up. One contraversial solution is the proposal of legalizing

drugs. Although people feel that legalizing drugs would lessen crime,

drugs should remain illegal in the U.S because there would be an

increase of drug abuse and a rapid increase of diseases such as AIDS.

Many believe that legalizing drugs would lessen crime. They

point out that the legalization of drugs would deter future criminal

acts. They also emphasize and contrast Prohibition. When the public

realized that Prohibition could not be enforced the law was repealed.

From this, one may infer the same of legalizing drugs. Legalizing

alcohol didn’t increase alcoholism, so why would drugs increase drug

abuse?

However, drugs should not be legalized because there would be

an increase in drug abuse due to its availability. Once legalized,

drugs would become cheaper and more accessible to people who

previously had not tried drugs, because of the high price or the legal

risk. Drug abuse would skyrocket! Addicts who tend to stop, not by

choice, but because the drugs aren’t accessible would now feed the

addiction if drugs were made legal. These drug addicts would not be

forced to kick the habit due to the availability of the drug they

would partake eagerly. The temptation to use drugs would increase when

advertisements for cocaine, heroin and marijuana are displayed on

television. Instead of money used by employed addicts, you will see

welfare funds used to purchase drugs. If welfare funds were being

misused, this would cause a major problem in the economy. Drugs must

not be legalized. It puts our country at a terrible risk.

Health officials have shown that the legalization of drugs

would cause a rapid increase of diseases such as AIDS. AIDS poses a

growing threat to addicts, and thus to society as a whole. The virus

that causes AIDS is growing, due to drug addicts who share needles and

syringes. The sharing of such needles by intravenous drug users helps

increase the spread of AIDS. “Infection among IV drug abusers is

continuing to occur at a very steady rate,” warn Richard E. Chaisson

director of the AIDS service at John Hopkins University. In the U.S

gay men still make up the primary risk group, although 750,000 to 1

million drug addicts are believed to be at risk to AIDS nationally.

The problem here is the sharing of needles, which is causing the

spread of AIDS. IV drug abusers are killing our nation at an amazingly

fast speed. AIDS which surfaced in the 80’s is now on the rise and

even more deadly to IV drug users. The sharing of needles must be

stopped. Drugs should not be legalized.

Although people feel that legalizing drugs would lessen crime,

drugs should remain illegal in the U.S because there would be an

increase of drug abuse and a rapid increase of diseases such as AIDS.

The United States can not afford this problem. It has become a world

power by strengthening its people not by killing them. Drug abuse has

gotten worse, with its effects on crack babies, drug addicts, and the

I.V user. There must be education for the survival of this nation, not

legalization.