Should Illicit Drugs Be Legalized - Essay Example

and Section # of Should Illicit Drugs Be Legalized? The question of whether illicit drugs, thatis drugs that it is currently illegal to be in possession of, is one that gives rise to great controversy, scrutiny and debate whenever it is asked. This might perhaps be due to the vagueness of the question rather than the subject matter itself. When one first hears that question, the mind immediately jumps to little packets of drugs like heroin and cocaine stacked on supermarket shelves where at most one would have to present id and thereby be in possession of them. However that might not exactly be the scenario the question itself is aiming at. No doubt drugs like heroin and cocaine should not be legalized. That is a matter so obvious that it is likely not to be the matter under debate and discussion anyway. The gray area arises when many of those illicit drugs are illustrated to have great medicinal benefit and seem no more capable of harm that cigarettes or alcohol. To answer the question, one must first explain what illicit drugs mean and how they may be further divided. Illicit drugs are any drugs that are illegal to trade, grow or possess. The word drugs, as mentioned, immediately gives rise to a negative stimulus in even the most educated of minds. But drugs do not necessarily have to be negative substances, or substances that harm a person. Medicines are also drugs, and many medicines also have the potential of being abusive substances, when administered incorrectly. Why then are they never sought to be made illegal? The answer to that is simple: because their benefits far outweigh any possible side effects that they may have. Certain illicit drugs such as Marijuana have been medically proven to have positive medicinal effects on patients suffering from diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis or even AIDS. Granted, it is more popular as a recreational drug than a medicinal one, but perhaps the question should be over how to reduce the recreational appeal and enhance it more medicinally, and the laws against it should be not on the basis of sale or possession, but rather on stricter guidelines for its distribution. To say that all illicit drugs should be legalized is wrong, but to say that none of them should be is equally wrong. Drugs that are capable of being beneficial if correctly used, such as the aforementioned marijuana should be further studied so that their harmful effects can be minimized and they should then be sold as medicines, but under the supervision of a doctor and only in the possession of a prescription. Antidepressants and relaxants are one of the most popularly used substances for abuse, yet they continue to be sold in pharmacies across the world, in likely every city of the world. Even cough syrup and laxatives have been recorded as abuse substances. Humans are capable of extracting negative benefit from almost any kind of substance or object imaginable. To make the substance illegal is counter-productive, as humans are also capable of find ways around the restrictions imposed upon them. Furthermore, it makes no sense to have substances like cigarettes and alcohol, which are shown to have almost no medicinal or health benefits at all, are freely sold, served and used, but others such as the aforementioned marijuana are not. Indeed, the reason the latter is used might perhaps be the only reason the former are used: mental relaxation. Adults that consume alcohol or some generally do it to achieve a certain sense of calm or relaxation. When marijuana aims to serve the same purpose, why is the matter considered taboo? Those that argue over its being multiply more harmful do not consider how certain forms of tobacco, such as cigars, might be even more harmful than marijuana, yet they too are freely and legally sold. Perhaps the main fear over legalization of these drugs is that they tend to appeal to the younger generation, who unlike the adults that consume alcohol or smoke, might not be able to control their dependence on the subject. As mentioned, however, this is no reason why someone suffering from AIDS does not have the right to cured of some of his nausea and headaches. Drugs should not all be legalized. In fact, if they are to be legalized only for recreational use, none of them should be. Man has the right to choose and indeed our constitution glorifies free will, but to err is human, and to be given the choice to do something so destructive, with so little reason to benefit from it, is indeed futile and counter-productive. To say that drugs should be legalized because counter-drug laws are costing tax payers and to say that drug laws are counter productive is also wrong, because no money spent against the spread of a bad thing is money wasted, and condemning an act as incorrect is far more effective and productive that giving up and surrendering to the act. But to keep all drugs illegal from the fear of their abuse and spread is also incorrect. If it were based on that, substances such as alcohol and cigarettes, or even fast food, should all be banned, because none of them serve any benefit per say, other than a feeling of pleasure, and almost all are harmful to a certain degree or the other. Attention should be focused more on which of these drugs should be legalized, based on which of them have considerable medicinal or otherwise benefits, as many of them do have the potential being beneficial, and how their negative effects can be minimized before they are made legal. If they are considered to be legalized, laws should be drafted focusing on what conditions they may be legalized under and to whom. Drugs such as heroin, Cocaine, Amphetamines and Ecstasy have no room on the table of this debate. They are and should continue to be illegal in any and all circumstances. But certain drugs such as marijuana have been used throughout history in countless civilizations, whether as a recreational drug, or a medicinal one, and if substances such as alcohol or tobacco, which are upto 7 times more popular (World Drug Report, 2007), are legal, it makes no sense to have them illegal. To have them being so results in unnecessary crime, arrests, trial and tribulations, all of which can be avoided if it is investigated more thoroughly. Indeed it is too soon to be able to answer this question with a direct yes, but perhaps it is time to stop and consider that there may be other answers than a yes or a no. References Nadelman, E: "Drugs; The Case for legalization", Washington Post October 8, 2006 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2007 W. Block, "Drug Prohibition: A Legal and Economic Analysis" Journal of Business Ethics, 1993 Shah, Anup. “Illicit Drugs.” Global Issues. 30 Mar. 2008. Web. 18 Jun. 2011. . Read More