Legalizing the Use of Drugs

Many feel today we are losing the war on drugs. When a battle goes to the point where there is no winner, there needs to be a re-evaluation of how to solve the problem. In the case of the war against drugs, years of fighting have caused increased crime, overcrowding of prisons, and the wasted use of money and resources with no results. It is now time to look at alternative methods to solve the nation's drug problem. Although, legalization will increase use of the drug a majority of use will be by those who already use drugs not by new comers who might only try it once out of curiosity. Proof of this can be found in Holland when in 1970 the government legalized the use of marijuana for adults. The legalization of illicit drugs has proved that just because a drug is made legal it does not mean it will cause a rapid rise and abuse by society (Friedman). However, many supporters of continuing the prohibition of drugs believe that by legalizing drugs they will become more accessible and use will therefore increase. They base this argument on past experiments dealing with alcohol prohibition. After the end of prohibition with the 21st amendment, alcohol consumption doubled, while prohibition decreased use by 50 percent (Light). Another example can be found in Liverpool, England. After a recent legalization of drugs in a regulatory program that focuses on the medical benefits of drugs, most drug pushers there left town because there was no longer a market for them. This shows that legalization actually decreases use because of the increased emphasis on rehabilitation and the decrease of drug pushers. Such a dramatic decrease in drug dealers has not only resulted in crime reduction in England but there has also been a decrease of drug use. It is true, legalization will not eliminate the major cause of violent crime; however, most arguments, that say that drug legalization will not decrease crime, deal with the idea that most violent crimes occur as a result of alcohol use. If this is true, legalization will not effect crime that is alcohol related but it will decrease violent crime that is linked to drug dealing and use. The drugs themselves may not cause violent crime, but people involved in the distributing of illicit drugs commit the deadliest crime. By legalizing drugs the dealer would be eliminated and therefore crime would be reduced. Granted, the overall cost of drug use would not decrease; however, supporters of the continued war on drug and the further prohibition of these drugs say that legalization would cost more both socially and economically. They say that legalization would result in increased use and eventually will mean an increase in deaths with. Another result they say will be the decay of family values as a result of increased drug using mothers and children. Actually, the legalization of drugs will put money, which is used for law enforcement into the construction of better rehabilitation and education programs. Education is an essential element in this proposal because through education the problem will find a better than merely covering it up behind jail bars. Economically, for every dollar spent on drug treatment there is a $7 return due to decreased criminal activity. Through the regulation and supervision of the distribution of marijuana, there would be no increases in the number of drug-addicted newborns, nor will it induce the deterioration of society. Thus the overall cost of drug use would decrease and would bring new revenue for our nation. After looking at and knowing the pro and cons of marijuana legalization, I have decided that it is a valid and necessary solution to our country†s drug problem. By implementing such a program the American population can use its money and resources to combat the problem through rehabilitation and education instead of stalling the problem through the legal system. Legalization will decrease violent crime associated with drug dealers; it will decrease the number of users and will lower the wasteful cost, which is connected with the current system. Such legalization will not destroy our youth in any way, because the drugs will only be accessible to adults in the country. If we continue with our current system we will never solve the problem. Drug dealers and addicts will continue to crowd our prisons and plague our streets with violent crime with no hope for help and a better future.