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…
Should marijuana be legalized? This is a question that we face everyday. Marijuana is used in many ways, some legal and some illegal, but the question is should all ways be legal? In this paper, you will read about the pros and cons of marijuana and the effects of it. Some people would look at this situation and say marijuana should be legalized because it helps with eyesight and others would say it ruins the lungs. But where do you stand? Do you feel that it’s healthy or does it ruin lives?…
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…
From a Decrease in crime, better health protection and civil liberties the benefits would be tremendous. Legalization would take vast profits out of underground dealers. This crime is estimated to account for about 50% of the total in urban America. Dealers, drug gangs and more organized groups such as the cartel would virtually loose all of their power upon legalization. This decrease in crime would allow for less government spending on police and efforts to halt drug use. This would allow much better allocations of these finances. Block talks about how, for example, this money could be put towards medicinal research and could help millions of people. Legalization would help people beyond medicinal reasons, one being that civil liberties would be preserved. As stated, drugs are a victimless crime which causes our police force to take away your individual rights to solve these crimes. As you can see from a decrease in crime to the preservation of civil liberties the legalization of drugs would be a great feat in our nations advance. Walter Blocks article clearly demonstrates…
The right to legalize marijuana has been around for a long time. As the years passed people have brought back the issue of legalizing marijuana. And for this reason is why people are taking action to oppose the legalization of marijuana. Marijuana should not be legalized. Marijuana should not be legalized because of its physical effects, financial problems, and government issues.…
Legalizing does not mean giving up on the problem; it rather means regulation and control over the situation. Contrasting the problem, criminalization means prohibition. The U.S cannot regulate what it prohibits, and drugs are too dangerous to remain unregulated. Prohibition will not help anyone, just like the U.S prohibited alcohol during the 20’s and 30’s, and it did not work. It is happening exactly like it with the drugs. U.S News & World Report writer Peter Moskos says, “ Illegal drug dealers sell to anyone. Legal Ones are licensed and help keep drugs such as beer, cigarettes, and pharmaceuticals away from minors. Illegal dealers settle disputes with guns, when on the other hand; legal ones solve theirs in court. Illegal dealers fear police, and legal ones fear IRS” (8). What Moskos is trying to explain is that by regulating the drugs things are kept under control. Usually people fall for drugs in a high percentage because it is “illegal”, and usually what we can have is what we want. By legalizing the U.S will be hitting hard the drug dealer’s economy and devastating their dirty, corrupt cartels. It is or choice to legalize drugs or pass through a second century of failed prohibition. Government regulation might not sound as powerful as “war on drugs” but it will do its job. (Moskos…
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.…
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…
"The last thing we need is yet another mind-altering substance to be legalized," says John Lovell, a lobbyist for the California Peace Officers ' Association, told Time Magazine.…
Legalizing drugs could be one of the smartest, most useful things we could do as a country. Only the ones who chose have to participate. If you don’t want to do drugs, works at a drug store, etc. you are not being asked to. But if these things become a reality, the country will be safer and more prosperous…
In a perfect world, eliminating the demand for illegal substances would unilaterally resolve the drug problem eventually, although in the short run we would still have the challenge of releasing the addicted from the grips of their habits. Absent demand, the impetus for the drug trade -- profit -- would disappear. So, too, would the social and health costs of drug abuse. In reality, there will always be a demand for drugs. Some portion of every population will continue to use illegal drugs to escape reality, experience pleasure, follow peer pressure, chase a misguided sense of adventure, or rebel against authority, among other self-destructive reasons. To counter these proclivities, prevention activities must forestall the use of illegal drugs,…
So with this Nixon and the U.S. Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The CSA Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 is the federal U.S drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids and other chemicals ( Reuters). Therefore, since the year of 1970 people have been well aware and informed about the usage and affiliation with drugs. People still dare to challenge the law and that is why they still continue to do these illegal acts. While in the act of being “sneaky” they are put in prison if caught and that’s where the decriminalization act would come into play. Decriminalizing drugs is not making them legal, but instead revolves around criminal charges from the action. Decriminalizing drugs would indeed help keep people out of prison, but at what risk. Drugs are addicting and what happens when a person who uses the first time is caught, what is to happen when they are released and get into a bigger mess and involve more people or lives are lost because this criminal was only a first offense so they had little to no punishment. We do not let murders go if they only kill one person for the first time do we? Although, some people are caught at the wrong time at the wrong place, but that's where law enforcement should step up and go the extra mile to prove the innocent, innocent. That's where our Fifth Amendment rights kick in- innocent until proven guilty- all necessary procedures should be taken to stop an innocent person from being put…
Drug wars would also be diminished; it is estimated that earnings from drug sales are between 14 billion to 50 billion dollars. By 2013, there were 120,000 deaths that have occurred by the Mexican drug cartel and 27,000 missing. If we legalized drugs in the United States we could make the product here, so that there wouldn’t be any need for the Mexican drug cartel. Not only would we be helping the United States but also we would be contributing to the demise of the Mexican…
In my opinion, the proposed approach to the criminalization of drugs would not be feasible. I believe this because federal drug laws are usually questionable, drug prohibition creates more opportunity for crime to occur, and the economical aspect of money (in the billions) being funneled towards criminal businesses and or organizations.…
The United States should decriminalize illicit drugs because it is a thing of the past, ineffective, and hurts millions of Americans by tarnishing both reputations and legal standings in society as well as families.…