In the article entitled “Would Legalized Drugs Produce a Zombie Nation?”(Cederblorn and Paulsen, 332 - 334) written by Stephen Chapman. The author (Stephen Chapman) provides a clear details and analogy of the drug use and abuse in the American society. The article gave a picture of a theoretical view where the use of banned drugs is legitimized by the United States government. The unbelievable situation of having a legitimate way of circulating the proscribed drugs would create a lot of chaos in the communities and society in general.…
In my writings I am going to be discussing the beliefs of James Q. Wilson and Douglas N. Husak. They both have very different views on drugs, Wilson is more of the conservative who believes drugs should be banned altogether, as opposed to Husak, who believes the use of drugs should be a personal choice. First, I am going to talk about James Q. Wilson and his views against the legalization of drugs. One of Wilsons claims is that the lack of availability would lead to less drug use and addiction. Wilson believes that if drugs were to be legalized then it will be easier for addicts to recruit other people into trying new drugs.…
The Case for Decriminalizing Drugs, he takes a different approach to regarding the War on Drugs. While he feels that current drug policies have failed, his book focuses on the injustice of punitive drug laws and believes we should stop punishing people for using illicit drugs. “A law whose purpose is deterrence must always be backed by a demonstration that the law is just.” (ix) His book is presented in three chapters. Chapter one describes our present drug policies and laws and raises questions to answer whether these are just or unjust and offers his position of decriminalization as a more ethical approach to drug use. Chapter two reviews the most frequent arguments used in favor of punishing drug users and Husak believes that none of these are convincing enough to warrant enacting laws on a person’s behavior. Chapter three declares that punishing drug users is counterproductive and damaging to us…
Many governments may struggle with whether to just decriminalize or legalize a drug entirely. Which is better for the government financially and more importantly the people? First we must understand the difference between decriminalization and legalization and the advantages and disadvantages. “Decriminalization does not mean that people can use drugs with impunity. But, possessing small amounts no longer lands the perpetrator with a criminal record or a jail sentence.” (Define Decriminalization) Before…
Gaylord and Harold H. Traver provide descriptions of different drug policies in various countries. By doing this they are able to broaden the readers knowledge of how the world views the use and distribution of drugs and other substances.…
There has been a debate on legalizing drug use for quite some time now. Most legalizers are liberals, and their views on drug policy are consistent with liberal views on other issues. This paper will outline the liberal view of legalizing drugs.…
In “Against the Legalization of Drugs,” by Peter de Marneffe, the argument that the use and possession of drugs needs to be decriminalized is made, because of the belief that the criminalization of drug use and possession violates the rights of citizens. In this paper, I will defend de Marneffe’s position by refuting a possible objection. Contrarians may claim that decriminalizing drugs will inevitably lead individuals to try harder and more dangerous drugs.…
Many have said that the war on drugs is a failure and needs reform. Others have lamented that the war on drugs is a war that cannot be won and valuable resources and money has been used up. Drugs are cheaper, purer, and more easily obtained than ever before. The war on drugs is futile. This paper will discuss why the United States should end the war on drugs.…
One of the arguments against legalization of drugs is what we have all grown up hearing which is “drugs are bad”. This reason has been said throughout most of our life and is what we learn in schools. However, legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco have caused more harm than illegal drugs. Another argument against legalization is that it would send mix signals to children. Drugs are bad and “just say no” have been sayings we have all learned growing up. However, if drugs were suddenly legal children would be confused. The rates of use can fluctuate in high school students with their confusion about drugs. Another argument against legalizing drugs is that the drug epidemic for late 1800s to 1900s ended because of society’s shift in attitude…
Doctors see it as a disease that needs a medical approach as well as punishment from the law. However, on the other side prosecutors and law enforcement refused to see them as sick people. They felt as if this took away the accountability of the drug users. The author stated that “criminalization and medication are complementary.”…
Drugs are a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body. For centuries, humans have been taking drugs - including magic mushrooms and opium - up to 10,600 years ago. At the University of Valladolid in Spain an anthropologist compiled evidence of psychoactive drug use in ancient cultures around the world (Gray). Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the lessening of criminal penalties in relation to certain acts, perhaps retroactively, though perhaps regulated permits or fines might still apply. Drug decriminalization, would not be an appropriate option for the United States because if decriminalizing would go into effect it would allow for injustices like the misuse…
References: DEA Briefs & Background, Drugs and Drug Abuse, Drug Descriptions, Drug Trafficking in the…
There are many controversial topics being debated about in the United States. One topic most often debated about is the legalization of drugs. Of course people have their own beliefs and opinions on the subject, but are the arguments discussed about actually valid? Is there enough evidence supporting the premises they claim? These are questions we should ask when observing the arguments people are presenting to defend their beliefs. I believe that drugs should not be legalized for several reasons, but as stated above, different people have different opinions.…
Growing up, everybody is informed that, "Drugs are awful for you," over and over. Presently as a kid they don't generally comprehend the thinking behind it, however they listen to the power figure in any case. Most children are told this their whole life and even right up 'til the present time. In any case, as children get more established they understand that individuals will still any case use drugs despite the fact that it is illegal. It is difficult to comprehend why somebody would want to come into conflict with the law and risk their life just to utilize drugs? The drug that is being discussed is cannabis, and shockingly it can be found in any area. Pot is even alluded to in today's media standard media sources that individuals appreciate,…
In the article, (Gray, 2012); discusses the impossibility of prohibition to ever be enforced, specifically in the means of drugs. As a former judge, Gray has insight into exactly how many people are incarcerated due to the mental disease of drug addiction, and how criminalizing their use does everything but aid our citizens. As the current USA's drug policy has only worsened the problem since 1970, he suggests to create a new policy with ten major goals in mind, focusing on decreasing the harm illicit substances have on our population as well as the harm drug money has on the world. There are logical reasonings given that support that legalizing the distribution of drugs by the government would put dangerous dealers out of business and make…