Legalized Drugs as the DEA

Legalized Drugs

As the DEA points out, drugs are illegal for a reason: they are harmful. When considering the debate about legalizing drugs, it is important to reconsider the role of the federal government. Most people would agree that government must control and ensure public safety and welfare; the government must protect individuals from harm without unduly infringing on their rights.

The government does not, for example, ban fast food even though it has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that such substances are harmful. Citizens are allowed to engage in highly risky activities like rock climbing without government interference. Prohibition of alcohol likewise was proven ineffective on this and other grounds, as Boaz points out. Alcohol causes direct deaths from poisoning and from drunk driving but the government chooses to allow its citizens to choose whether or not they want to flirt with danger in such a way. Alcohol is, however, a controlled substance. Minors are prohibited form ingesting it and no citizen is allowed to drive drunk because of the danger such an action would pose to others.

Drugs should be treated in the same fashion. After all, alcohol is a drug. Another reason why prohibition did not work was because of the black market that sprouted up around it. A similar black market has blossomed due to the prohibition against drugs. If drugs were legalized and controlled like alcohol is, there would be no crime syndicates in charge of production and distribution. The quality of drugs would improve, as licensed manufacturers, growers, distributors, and retailers would pass regular exams by federal agencies like the FDA. Adults would be allowed to safely use drugs in the way they safely use alcohol, but law enforcement officials would certainly remain tough on driving under the influence as they are with alcohol. Children would be banned from purchasing drugs as they are from purchasing alcohol or tobacco. Therefore, legalizing drugs is the only logical, reasonable, and sensible thing to do. Far from being immoral, legalized drugs protects the rights of American citizens to live life as they please so long as they are not harming other people. Drugs can be harmful indeed; but so can a slew of other things we do each day including simply driving to work. Adults who are aware of the dangers involved in anything they choose to do should never be told not to climb a mountain or not to do drugs.