Legalizing drugs: arguments and policy implications

Drug Legalization

This week, Columbian drug smugglers surgically opened six Labrador retriever and Rottweiler puppies and stuffed packets of heroin inside their bellies. Countless human beings have willingly stuck packages of illegal substances into any available bodily orifice or swallowed unknown quantities only to pass them out later. These instances indicate the grimly extreme lengths drug smugglers are willing to go in order to circumvent American drug prohibition laws. Drug trafficking is one of the world's most dangerous businesses; trafficking is intimately connected to crimes ranging from theft to murder to terrorism. In an article in Canadian paper the National Post, Ted Carpenter notes that both leftist and rightist paramilitary groups have "been financed largely by that country's cocaine trade." Carpenter continues to state, "The harsh reality is that terrorist groups have been enriched by prohibitionist drug policies that drive up drug costs ... What anti-drug crusaders refuse to acknowledge ... is that the connection between drug trafficking and terrorism is the direct result of making drugs illegal." An end to the drug prohibition is crucial. Key parallels can be drawn between drug prohibition and the now seemingly ridiculous alcohol prohibition movement in the early twentieth century: "The same type of violence came with the Eighteenth Amendment's ban of alcohol in 1920. The murder rate rose with the start of Prohibition, remained high during Prohibition, and then declined for 11 consecutive years when Prohibition ended," (Ostrowski). Not only does illegal drug trafficking fuel terrorist activity, organized, and unorganized crime, but the drug prohibition also has disastrous consequences for general public heath. Monies that are funneled into the "war on drugs" can be better spent on education and addiction treatment. Taxes raised from the sale of legal drugs would be a huge boost to legal economic activities. Without an illegal drug trade, terrorists all over the world would lack a substantial portion of their incomes and thus legalizing drugs would make the world a safer place.

As the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) comments on their website, many drugs are harmful. True: cocaine, heroine, and ecstasy are dangerous substances. However, so is one of the world's most prevalent legal substances: alcohol. Alcohol is responsible for addiction problems, violence, and general social malaise. Overindulgence in alcohol leads to long-term health problems as well, problems that become costly in terms of human life as well as in preventable medical costs. Yet no one would now argue that alcohol should be illegal. The dismal failure of prohibition, the widespread popularity of alcohol, and the enormous amounts of money spent on alcoholic beverages would prevent another alcohol prohibition. Moreover, alcohol in small quantities, especially beer and wine, are quite healthy. In spite of numerous studies testifying as to the harmlessness of marijuana, drug prohibition activists refuse to acknowledge that when compared to alcohol, marijuana is safe. "According to the Institute of Medicine, there is no future in smoked marijuana as medicine. However, the prescription drug Marinol -- a legal and safe version of medical marijuana which isolates the active ingredient of THC -- has been studied and approved by the Food & Drug Administration as safe medicine," according to the DEA. The only reason why marijuana is not approved as medicine is because the medical associations of America refuse to conduct any real research. The pharmaceutical industry stands to lose a lot of money if ordinary citizens could grow and smoke their own pot: no one would have to buy Marinol, for one thing.

Furthermore, prescription drugs can be highly addictive. People of all ages, even children, are being spoon-fed government-approved substances. Seniors frequently become addicted to prescription drugs. These approved substances have been deemed "healthier" and "safer" than illegal drugs by the pharmaceutical companies who stand to make a lot of money by their sale and distribution. However, they are in reality no safer or healthier. Drugs that are currently illegal, such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroine, should be regulated, no doubt. Teenagers should not be allowed to purchase cocaine at the local 7-11, just as they cannot purchase beer there either. Drugs that are currently illegal can be sold legally and regulated.