Drug Legalization

Drug Legalization

Most Americans want to feel safe at home, and when they are out in the streets. This security everyone dreams of is hardly ever a reality. One reason why we live in fear is because of the many problems that arise as a result of drug use. The drug problem that our country is facing is bringing violence and addiction to many people. Large amounts of crime result from drug use. Drug addicts have few resources to slowly diminish their habit, and their lives slowly worsen. The government has tried for years to battle this enormous problem. Attempts at winning this war on drugs have had little success. Law enforcement has little effect, and it alone cannot defeat the giant problems that come with drug use in America. It is time that we consider a new option to minimize the negative effects of drug use. A logical solution to this problem is the legalization of illegal drugs.

An example of a failed solution to a substance problem is a piece of history. In the 1920's, alcohol was made illegal by Prohibition. What resulted was a large outbreak of organized crime. This new organized crime created a series of problems. Criminals jumped at the chance to supply the demand for liquor. The streets became stages for violence. Large amounts of unlawful money bribed law enforcement and court officials. Non-regulated liquor that criminals made crippled or even killed the people who consumed them. When Americans saw what Prohibition was doing, they supported its repeal. Prohibition was officially repealed in 1933. After repeal, most states legalized liquor and the criminal gangs were out of the liquor business (Le Moult 33). Prohibition failed to accomplish its goal to eliminate the problems of alcohol use. This part of history shows that total restriction of a substance cannot prevent its use or the harmful results of its presence.

A helpful aspect of the legalization of drugs is the effect it would have on the nation's economy. Taxes on tobacco and alcohol attain money for the country. Taxing substances such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine would bring in much needed money to the government. This would lower the demand of money from income and property taxes. Also, drug legalization would reduce the amount of money needed to spend on law enforcement. The U.S. government spent $1.5 billion on drug enforcement last year ("Drug Enforcement Statistics"). This money could be spent on other important government programs. In addition to lowering enforcement costs, legalizing drugs would reduce the number of inmates kept in prisons for drug-related crimes. This would lower prison costs as well as improve the problem of prison overcrowding. These factors would save money and revive the delicate state of the present economy.

Besides helping the economy, legalization would reduce crime and addiction. Crime is arguably the most dangerous association with drugs. More than half of the crime in America is drug related ("Drug Enforcement Statistics"). The black market for drugs is the battleground. There, violence results as dealers and addicts clash. Robbery and burglary occur as drug users try to obtain money for their habit. Legalization would reduce or even eliminate the black market, eliminating the violence along with it. Addiction is the other major problem with illegal drugs. A program that is in trial in other countries is government based drug distribution. This program involves a government-controlled distribution of drugs such as heroin. Addicted patients can receive a prescription and legally purchase the drugs they need to slowly break themselves from their addiction (Terkel 34). Such a program in America seems like a good alternative to the violence that occurs when desperate addicts try to get a hold of their illegal drug.

Many believe that legalization of drugs would only create more drug abuse and open the door for drug use in young people. Legalization may produce easier access to dangerous drugs, but according to Ernest van den Haag, author of "Legalize Illegal drugs," "a rise in addiction seems unlikely." Despite