Legalizing Drugs Essay, Research Paper

Lindsey Greene

English 102

September 23, 2001

& # 8220 ; Drugs- something and frequently an illegal substance that causes dependence, addiction, or a

pronounced alteration in consciousness. & # 8221 ; & # 8211 ; Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Merely near your eyes for a minute and image what the universe would be like if

drugs were legal. Would you be for it or against it? Just believe, you could acquire drugs

anyplace you wanted. You would non hold to worry about acquiring in problem with the

jurisprudence. You could acquire every bit many as you wanted and have a supply and assortment of whatever

you wished for. Would this be a good thing or a bad thing?

The three beginnings: Traffic, Legalizing Drugs Make Matters Worse, and Legalization Madness all has the same thing in common. They all lean to the side that drugs are a job and legalising them would merely do things worse. There are people that argue that the best manner to work out the job of drugs is merely by doing drugs legal. There are many jobs that would be associated with legalisation of drugs that is discussed in these three beginnings. Drug users would increase dramatically, offense would raise higher than it has been earlier, and the unemployment rate will travel up due to the fact that the addition of users has besides increased the figure of people who have to back up their drug wont by illegal actions ( Inciardi & A ; Saum 82 ) .

Wilson every bit good as Incardi and Saum take a expression at the different sides or possibilities of affects that legalising drugs could hold on society. Incardi and Saum make three points that the other side is doing. In their article it includes that legalising drugs will coerce the quality of drugs to travel up, diminish the hunt to happen drugs, and besides increase the sum that drug users consume ( 79 ) . The drug quality will hold to travel up merely because there will likely stop up being limitations on the drugs and they will be monitored to do certain they are existent. Before people would purchase the drugs non cognizing for certain what precisely they were acquiring. Now they would be guaranteed quality. They besides wouldn & # 8217 ; Ts have to travel out seeking for person who has drugs or person who knows how that individual could acquire some. Peoples would no longer hold to mouse around seeking to acquire their drugs. Last, people would increase the sum of drugs they intake because they will be cheaper. Their organic structures will acquire used to the dose that they are taking and have to take more to hold the same consequence. Since it will be cheaper it will merely be an alibi to make it more frequently ( Wilson 1 ) .

If we were to legalise drugs the figure of users would increase dramatically ( Wilson 1 ) . Harmonizing to Incardi and Saum, one of the biggest grounds for non utilizing drugs is due to the fact that they are illegal. By doing drugs legal it would lure people to travel out and seek them, which would do it more likely that they would go addicted ( 81 ) . Wilson states that offense rates have fallen in this state and if we want them to lift up once more the manner we can make that is by legalising drugs. If we cut down drugs among felons it would assist the offense rates alternatively of merely allowing them have all the supplies they wanted ( 3 ) . It doesn & # 8217 ; t affair if it is the & # 8220 ; difficult & # 8221 ; drugs or the & # 8220 ; soft & # 8221 ; drugs. You can go addicted to any drug and the users don & # 8217 ; t halt at the soft drugs but maintain traveling up to the difficult material. Marijuana merely increases the likelihood that person will fall back to stronger substances. Legalizing drugs would take down the monetary values of drugs but would increase the figure of users ( Wilson 7 ) .

Although the drug monetary values would fall this would do it even easier for people to acquire them and utilize them on a regular footing. This would increase the figure of nuts and the offense would non diminish. In fact, Wilson suggests that offense would really increase. We would hold all these new users who are now no longer able to keep a occupation because of their drive wont that forces them to fall back to condemnable activity. The unemployment rate will drop and our society will non better but weaken ( Wilson 2 ) . This is non the lone job we are traveling to hold to cover with. Incardi and Saum say that there will be an addition in physical and mental jobs with people utilizing drugs ( Inciardi & A ; Saum 82 ) .

A perfect illustration of people fring their control over their ain organic structures due to inordinate drug usage is seen in the film Traffic. In this film the drug Czar & # 8217 ; s girl, Caroline is seen in legion scenes where she has no control over her organic structure and is making things that she usually would non make. It shows how she has to fall back to many things merely to acquire her following hole or to acquire money to back up her drug wont. It shows in one portion of the film where she has to steal her female parent & # 8217 ; s jewellery to acquire money. Caroline was non from a low category household. This merely shows how anybody can hold a drug job.

Many times drug jobs are straight associated with hapless people, but this is non the instance. Caroline was from a high category, white household. She was an astonishing pupil who had many achievements and had many things traveling for her. She merely made some bad picks, which seemed to hold a waterfall consequence. Her job started out little and so grew to one where she could non command any longer. The lone manner to acquire out of this quandary was to travel acquire aid. She could non make it on

her ain and eventually by the terminal of the film she gained her male parent and mother’s support in this affair every bit good as the people from the clinic.

In Legalization Madness it points out the three different theories on why force is associated with drugs. Psychopharmacological, economically compulsive, and systematic show how and why people resort to offense. One of these suggests that addicts commit offenses because they are non themselves. It is the drugs responsible for their actions but Inciardi and Saum suggest otherwise. They believe if drug usage increased that force would increase every bit good. Even if the drugs were inexpensive people would merely stop up purchasing more for themselves doing them to be that much more addicted to the drugs and go dependent on them to work ( 74 ) .

These two articles have a batch of similar positions. They both agree on the fact that in legalising drugs force would besides increase. They both say that physical unwellness will most decidedly become and publish if the usage of drugs returns. Legalization Madness and Traffic both showed the different positions of the issue on legalising drugs. Although Traffic seemed to be based on maintaining drugs illegal some other parts of the film would wholly belie that. Many scenes in the film is demoing the drug Czar and his compulsive demand to hold & # 8220 ; merely a drink. & # 8221 ; He wouldn & # 8217 ; t face the fact that his girl had a job so he would imbibe. He said he needed to loosen up but truly he merely didn & # 8217 ; t cognize how to cover with the job in his ain house. Another portion of the film shows how different the regulations are in the United States compared to Mexico. The Mexican constabulary seemed like they were interrupting the jurisprudence besides. They were out to acquire benefits for themselves non to implement the jurisprudence. The film Traffic is a perfect illustration of the jobs associated with drugs. Peoples will make things they usually wouldn & # 8217 ; t do. A perfect illustration of this would be Helena. She had nil to make with the drugs but every bit shortly as her hubby was traveling to imprison she resorted to steps that were illegal merely to salvage him from remaining in prison and to maintain her boy safe. A good point of this film is that you can & # 8217 ; t halt drugs in general unless you start with single people.

In the film Traffic they used poignancy largely to acquire us to sympathise with Caroline. In the scene where she was in bed and so messed up that she couldn & # 8217 ; t even see sound truly was meant to acquire to people & # 8217 ; s Black Marias. They wanted us to experience sorry for her particularly when the pa broke down shouting because he had to see his girl like that. They besides used poignancy with the whole state of affairs with Helena. She had to maintain her boy safe because there were work forces who were willing to nobble him if she didn & # 8217 ; t pay them the money that her hubby owed them. It got the spectator to experience sorry for her because she didn & # 8217 ; Ts have anything to make with it even though later she started to acquire involved. It merely shows how drugs can suck people in.5rt

Drugs are something that should non be taken lightly. They are powerful and really effectual. When used in a careless mode it can ensue in serious effects. Wilson states that if we legalize drugs it will merely harm others ( 2 ) . All three of these beginnings support maintaining drugs illegal. If we think that legalising drugs is the reply so we will happen out the difficult manner. The lone manner to maintain people off the streets, away drugs, and off from violent behaviour is to do certain the coevalss to come hold a solid instruction of this issue and if we take clip to assist the kids they might non turn to drugs. This is shown on Traffic at the terminal of the film where Javier is watching the baseball game. He is making his portion to take clip to give to the kids and be a support for them. He tried halting drugs but he eventually realized that he needed to get down in his ain community. The same thing happened with the Drug Czar. He had a end to halt the job of drugs but throughout the film he dealt with household state of affairss that gave him a broader glimpse at the job of drugs. He realized that he couldn & # 8217 ; t do anything to halt the drug job if he couldn & # 8217 ; t even cover with it in his ain place. He quit his occupation and decided to be at that place to back up his girl trusting that his support would maintain her off the streets and back into the promising life she had before.

As you can see these three different beginnings weigh all of the facts and utilize grounds to find what the best reply to legalising drugs would be. These beginnings encourage you to believe for yourself given all the information. Even if we think that legalising drugs would be the best reply we have to retrieve that drugs are still illegal and the lone manner we can alter that is by making something about it, which is go oning with these beginnings. They are promoting the reader to see their position and merely believe about where they are coming from. So no affair what our sentiment may be these articles at least gave us both positions and made us decidedly think about what we believe and why we believe it.

Inciardi, James A & A ; Saum, Christine A.. & # 8220 ; Legalization Madness. & # 8221 ; The Public Interest 123 ( 1996 ) : 72-82.

Traffic. Dr. Steven Soderburg. Perf. Michael Douglas, Katherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle, and Benecio del Toro, 2000.

Wilson, James Q.. Legalizing Drugs Makes Matters Worse. September 02, 2000. Cannabis News. September 14, 2001 hypertext transfer protocol: //cannabisnews.com/news/thread6919.shtml.