War on Drugs
Would You Apply This Strategy Across the Board or Employ Different Stances Depending On the Substance?
The same approach will be applied to every drug for them to become decriminalized.
Defend your Position
Drug legalization is a very complex issue. Most Americans are not in favor of it, but there is still a powerful and very audacious lobby in the United States that is of the opinion that the proper course to take is legalization (Hartnett, 2005). Proponents of this drug legalization are of the opinion that current drug policies have proved harmful to individuals, families, and the society at large. They oppose current drug laws and policies for different reasons.
To some people, these laws are impingement of individual liberties. Some see these laws as a huge waste of government resources and cite the opinion that legalizing drugs could yield millions in revenues from taxes, while putting drug dealers out of business at the same time, and ensuring quality controls in drug production. Some believe that legalization would minimize crime generally.
Some also argue that the laws are a kind of institutionalized racism created to keep the minorities as a permanent disenfranchised underclass, holding them behind bars, making them addicted to drugs, or completely dependent on government aids. Others accept what they believe to be humanitarian approach, with the argument that some substances should be legalized for medical uses. Some have decided to identify the issue as harm reduction rather than drug legalization in a clear attempt to make it appear like a lighter issue and make it appear more humanitarian.
Still, to some, the ban on drugs is nothing, but a very flawed and unfeasible strategy that has aggravated crime and hostility and has contributed to a deep sense of despair and hopelessness for several Americans. It is also noteworthy to mention that these proponents of legalization include the supporters from across the entire political sphere, and libertarians on the far right to progressives on the far left. Charles Rangel,...
Buckley, the columnist and conservative icon, has long campaigned for the legalization of drugs. According to Congressman Rangel, legalization is a very dangerous idea that should be buried once and for all (Rangel, 1998).
According to the advocates of legalization, once drugs are legalized, that will become a financial windfall for the
American economy. They are of the belief that all the
money wasted on enforcing drug laws and all related issues would then be channeled to areas like
health care,
education, infrastructure and
social services. As earlier mentioned, some are of the belief that it is possible to tax drugs eventually, thereby creating the much-needed revenue. One central legalization tenet is that it would remove underground drug markets, since drugs would be openly available (Mineta, 2010).
Discussion about The Victims of the Approach You Would Select
Our drug policies consider both
public health and public safety drug use aspects through prolonged support for drug prevention and
treatment. Our extensive experience with two legal substances,
tobacco and alcohol, demonstrates that legalization enhances society's reception, ease of use, use, and associated costs.
The
numbers of deaths caused annually by tobacco and
alcohol run into hundreds of thousands, and are much more than the annual deaths all illegal drugs can cause. This is because the use of tobacco and…
