Preview

Tok - Legalisation of Drugs

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
540 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Tok - Legalisation of Drugs
Legalisation of Drugs

The discussion on whether or not to legalise drugs is not controversial, as popular thought considers the matter to be ridiculous and that the debate should be focused on how to fight drugs instead. But, could it be that they are the same thing? Have our strict norms gotten in the way of solving this major societal problem? This essay will discuss the matter and it will also touch upon different views (for and against).

Those for legalising drugs often use the argument that controlling the usage will be made easier. Creating a governmental monopoly on the goods will increase prices, causing fewer people to buy it. Norms of society have imposed a form of taboo on the issue of drugs; it is seldom discussed openly, which makes it harder to solve the problem. Speaking of it freely will get the information out to those who need it, and this could prevent many people from wanting to test drugs in the first place. Educating teachers and schools to discuss facts regarding drugs instead of imposing societal norms, would help youngsters to understand why drugs are wrong, and not just learn. What many do not realise is that many drugs do not have worse effects on the human body than alcohol does. Banning these drugs while keeping alcohol legal, would be paradoxical.
Drugs like heroin that have negative effects, will be smuggled and illegally sold on the black market anyway. Legalising them will help us to control them and see to it that teenagers do not get their hands on them.

Those against legalisation of drugs tend to claim that the accessibility of the good will increase if it is legalised. The drugs will easily get into the hands of irresponsible teens, on a legal basis. The hospitals and rehabilitation-centres would eventually get overcrowded and it would have a significant effect on the economy. Drugs ruin peoples’ lives and if it gets into the wrong hands, let alone any hands, it may as well lead to death. Furthermore, the issue

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    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…

    • 1422 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The main reason that I believe that drugs should not be legalised is that: if drugs should start being legal in sport than what is stopping it from being legal in the world. I think that drugs should not be used at all. There will be no stopping people from using sport as they will just say that they play one sport or another.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    my first instinct about decriminalizing drugs is absolutely not, but if you really think about it, it could work. You know when your parents take your phone away, you just really want it? Or in general, you can’t get something you really want. It’s a struggle. But when you do have it, it’s not as much of a priority anymore in your head. It becomes less relevant. I believe that by decriminalizing drugs, it would create a similar reaction. We would work to make these drugs less potent. The drugs wouldn’t be promoted worldwide, instead, be filled with warnings. Then you find the drugs that are more potent, and you take caution with them. Doctors would oversee the dosage and use, while also looking to the addicts. Legalizing these drugs draws out…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prohibition In The 1920's

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages

    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.…

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the news I recently heard about a young girl who was playing in her front yard in the middle of the day when an illegal drug deal was happening right across the street. Apparently, the illegal drug buy went wrong and the gang members started shooting at one another, when one of the bullets hit the young girl. She laid on the grown of her front yard lifeless because of selfish gang members. If drugs become legalized incent people wouldn’t die. Drug uses could just go to the store to buy their drugs and incent people wouldn’t get hurt. The government could also tax the drugs, which could help…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Decriminalizing Drugs

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages

    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.…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As Rolles so accurately points out, "the criminalisation of drugs has historically been presented as an emergency response to an imminent threat, rather than an evidence based health or social policy intervention". What the criminal justice system fails to take into account is that by enforcing punitive drug policies the issue at hand is merely subdued. This high level policy environment routinely ignores critical scientific engagement and is uniquely divorced from most public health and social policy norms, such as interventions using established indicators of health and wellbeing. Porter reminds us that the notion of 'drugs' as we understand it today is a relatively new invention, therefore classifying drugs as 'illegal' and punishing those…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Satire Essay On Drugs

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages

    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…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The paper “Drug Prohibition: A Legal and Economical Analysis” by Walter Block agues for the legalization of addictive drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin. It argues that there are no “market failures” which could justify the banning of these drugs, and also that, just like our current systems precursor the alcohol prohibition, the criminalization of these drugs increases crime, decreases respect for our law, and creates great social uproar. The main sections of this paper look at many sides of the argument. The second section of the article argues on the economical side, third being the libertarian view of law, fourth being objections and their rebuttal and finally the fifth, being an analysis of the benefits of legalization.…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages

    First, the billions of dollars that the government is spending trying to abolish illegal drugs would be put to better use and the government would be able to tax the "new drugs" just as they do alcohol and tobacco. These monies could then be spent to provide better education on the affects of drugs and drug abuse, better healthcare, and research on medical uses of drugs such as marijuana. "Also, the government would be able to regulate the quality of "products" on the market, resulting in fewer deaths caused by overdosing and by "junk" drugs" (Grinspoon, Lester, 167).…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays