Illegal Drugs Becoming Legal in the US - Research Paper Example

Medicinal Marijuana Should be Legal in the U.S. Several countries throughout the world are working to decriminalize or legalize less harmful drugs such as cannabis (marijuana). It has been suggested, and in some cases demonstrated, that legalizing or at least decriminalizing marijuana can help to reduce violent crimes and significantly decrease the number of people incarcerated for drug use which would allow more individuals to remain contributing members of society. It would free up funds and law-enforcement manpower to instead combat the more urgent societal issues. Although not legal in the Netherlands, cannabis is openly tolerated and can be both purchased and consumed in one of several Amsterdam ‘coffee houses.’ Inexplicably, the city has not been thrown into anarchy which, evidently, is what the opponents of cannabis legalization are afraid of. The evidence demonstrates that legalizing cannabis for medicinal in addition to general purposes would prove a benefit to society, evidence which is well-known throughout the scientific, political and public arena but this collective knowledge has yet to be acted upon. A report in The Economist expressly states concerns regarding a rising drug-using and dependent population if these drugs should be made more available. While acknowledging that the price of drugs is artificially high due to the difficulties of circumventing the law, authors of this report indicate that it is precisely because of the high cost and difficulty to obtain that prevents more individuals from experimenting with them, thus becoming addicted, either physically or psychologically. Although these arguments can also be made for other substances that are currently legal, voters have argued that it is not necessary to bring in more potentially harmful substances into legal circulation at this time. To support the argument in favor of legalization, authors pull in the theories of John Stuart Mill, who espoused that adult citizens should have the right to make their own choices regarding whether or not to participate in harmful activity as long as it does no harm to others, a theory that has been largely ignored in the decisions regarding alcohol and tobacco, but not the Class C substances such as marijuana. In addition, the damage done to poor countries that produce the drugs and poor individuals within the rich countries who buy the drugs surpasses any benefits gained by the current bans. In favor of legalization, governments would gain the ability to standardize quality, regulate ages allowed to purchase and add safety warnings to specific populations. Yet it is stressed that any move to legalize should be taken slowly and carefully so as to avoid some of the pitfalls that have taken place at the end of prior prohibition endings, starting with a change in the United Nations policy that prevents many countries from moving in this direction. (“Case for Legalisation,” 2001) Most Americans are not against the medicinal use of marijuana and states are legalizing the practice but any use of marijuana remains against federal law which generally translates to stiffer sentences if caught. The U.S. government has declared a total prohibition of Marijuana, a method that is one of the most common policies utilized but has evidently not succeeded as intended. This practice has not eliminated drug traffic. It has however, altered the arrangement of supply and demand by forcing the illegality of this market. Cancer patients undergoing conventional chemotherapy treatment are also required to take a number of secondary drugs to try to control their pain and nausea. Marijuana can naturally address these issues as is attested to by a cancer patient and former police commissioner. In addition to relieving his nausea, Jo Daly said he was “able to drastically reduce my dependence on more powerful prescription drugs that I was prescribed for pain and nausea. With the help of medical marijuana, which I ingest only occasionally and in small amounts, I no longer need the Compazine, Lorazepam, Ativan and Halcion. No combination of these medications provided adequate relief. They also caused serious side effects that I never experienced with marijuana” (1997). He was able to take significantly less drugs with significantly fewer side effects by using natural marijuana rather than any combination of chemical drugs. Many doctors recognize the benefits of marijuana in treating patients with arthritis. “The spinal cord is loaded with cannabinoid receptors. These cannabinoid compounds [from marijuana] apparently reduce swelling from inflammation [a major symptom of arthritis]. But more than that, they kill the pain from inflammation specifically. They work on the peripheral nerves that carry pain from your joint into the spinal cord” (Walker, 2000). Those who suffer from bowel disease face sometimes life-threatening flare-ups with very few clinical options. There are only a limited number of traditional medications available for these conditions and these are frequently ineffective in fully managing the symptoms. However, “beneficial effects [of marijuana use] were reported for appetite, pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, activity and depression. Patients also reported that cannabis use resulted in weight gain, fewer stools per day and fewer flare-ups of less severity” (Hergenrather, 2005). Weight gain is an important consideration for these patients as their condition causes malnutrition and low weight. A study conducted by the Department of Neural Plasticity at the Cajal Institute in Spain (Ceballos, 2005) found “cannabinoid receptors are important in the pathology of AD [Alzheimer’s disease] and that cannabinoids succeed in preventing the neurodegenerative process occurring in the disease.” The benefits of marijuana to AIDS and HIV patients have been recognized by Dr. Kate Scannell of Kaiser-Permanente Northern California Ethics Department (2003): “From working with AIDS and cancer patients, I repeatedly saw how marijuana could ameliorate a patient’s debilitating fatigue, restore appetite, diminish pain, remedy nausea, cure vomiting and curtail down-to-the-bone weight loss.” These are the properties that make marijuana more effective for the treatment of so many ailments without the need for further medication to counter side effects. Marijuana use can reduce or even eliminate the need for more harmful drugs in a number of conditions that share some of these symptoms including: Glaucoma, Hepatitis C, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Nail patella, Cachexia (wasting syndrome), Chronic Pain, Nausea, Seizures, Epilepsy, Muscle spasms, Multiple sclerosis, Depression, Eczema, and Neuropathy among others. Some negative social aspects can be attributed to both legal and illegal drug use. The acquisition of drugs in the illegal market almost certainly creates more negative affects than would its distribution under a legalized system. (Clark, 2003) The additional social ills associated with the illegal drug trade include violence with no legal recourse and the criminalization of those who purchase in the illegal market, crowding prisons and resulting in the early release of violent criminals, both a revenue draining reality. Illegal drug trade also increases health care costs for all as there are no regulations regarding strength and quality of illegal drugs. Prohibition has probably reduced the scope of drug distribution but has also ensured negative economic effects. Finding the balance between these two effects is one of the key considerations in the welfare analysis of drug policy. (“Case for Legalisation,” 2001) Most European nations separate cannabis from the harder drugs in its laws and discussions but the United States generally does not. The U.S. continues to be heavily engaged in its ‘war on drugs’, which began in the 1970’s and was accelerated by President Reagan in the 1980’s. While cannabis remains illegal in the UK, it is no longer mandatory that casual users of the drug must be arrested when caught. Instead, arrest can be detained until exacerbating circumstances arise, such as the use of the drug in the presence of minors. The U.K. system is somewhere between the more relaxed laws of The Netherlands and the stricter laws of the U.S. but are still among the harshest in Europe. Though cannabis is technically illegal to possess and sell in both nations, casual users in the U.S. face long prison sentences. By contrast, in The Netherlands, individuals over the age of 18 who smoke it discretely are not arrested and possession of five grams or the cultivation of less than five plants is not prosecuted. In addition, there are several coffee shops and cafes that are licensed to sell cannabis within their shops and are permitted to hold up to 100 grams behind their counter and another 500 grams in storage. A law passed in 2003 also permits doctors to prescribe marijuana for medicinal use through local pharmacies. (Coughlin, 2003) The prohibition approach taken by countries such as the United States have led to an astronomical increase in the rates of crime and numbers of incarcerated individuals as a result while having little to no impact upon the actual availability and usage rates within the country’s borders. The Netherlands allows for cafes and coffee houses with special licensing permits to distribute marijuana. Company employees are not fired for having inhaled at lunch, but are able to readily find counselors if they find they have become psychologically addicted to marijuana’s effects. However, the choice is not simply a black and white issue of whether or not to decriminalize. While drug laws are relaxed regarding the Class C narcotics in England and the Netherlands, they still remain against the law. The prohibition of marijuana makes little sense and disallowing the medicinal use to cancer patients living every day with agonizing pain and glaucoma patients who depend on marijuana to see better, for example, should be unthinkable in a civilized society. References Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). (1994). “Drugs and Crime Facts, 1994.” ONDCP Drugs & Crime Clearinghouse. Rockville, MD: NCJRS. p. 33. “Cannibis Laws Eased by Blunkett.” (July 11, 2002). BBC News. “Case for Legalization, The.” (July 26, 2001). The Economist. Ceballos, Maria L. de et al. (February 23, 2005). “Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology by Cannabinoids: Neuroprotection Mediated by Blockage of Microglial Activation.” Journal of Neuroscience. Chaiken, J. & Chaiken, M. (1989). “Drug Use and Predatory Crime.” Drugs and Crime – Crime and Justice: An Annual Review of Research. J.Q. Wilson & M. Tonry (Eds.). Vol. 13. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Clark, Andrew E. (May 2003). “The Economics of Drug Legalization.” Paris: DELTA (Departement et Laboratoire d’Economie Theorique et Appliquee). Coughlin, Geraldine. (September 1, 2003). “Dutch to Prescribe Cannibis.” BBC News. Daly, Jo. Conant v. McCaffrey. (February 14, 1997). May 13, 2010 Hergenrather, Jeff. (Autumn, 2005). “Cannabis Alleviates Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease.” O’Shaughnessy’s. Scannell, Kate. (February 16, 2003). “Mr. Attorney General, Listen to the Doctors.” San Francisco Chronicle. Walker, J. Michael. (December 2000). “Marijuana as Medicine.” Arthritis Today. Read More