Eathan Nadelman's Pro-Drug Arguments - Report Example

‎ ‎ Number]‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Eathan Nadelman’s Pro- Drug Arguments Drug use is considered an illegal and harmful activity throughout the world and has hard penalties and even jail sentences attached to it for someone who breaks this law. United States of America is one of the largest consumers of drugs and many people die due to excessive use or low and bad quality drugs. There are many harmful medical and psychological effects of indulging in drugs which include distorted perception, problems with memory, learning and coordination, issues with problem solving, increased heart rate and low blood pressure. Marijuana users are three times more likely to develop cancer plus it also reduces the power of one’s immune system which makes them weak and prone to medical issues. The drug consumption issue is getting serious with each passing day and the number of people being punished for drug usage is also increasing. According to the estimates between 1980 and 2000, the number of prisoner in state and federal prisons for drug offenses increased by approximately 1.3% (Waller 365) Eathan Nadelman is the founder of the USA Drug Policy Alliance which is a non-profit institution which works to end the war on drugs. He is also a commentator on the U.S and international drug control policy. Eathan Nadelmans most arguments in favor of legalized drug use point towards economically benefiting from the sale of such products. He says the Governments have spent a lot of money trying to stop such illegal activities and have failed to do so plus wasted billions of dollars on it. He also says legalized products are easier to control distribution of e.g. cigarette’s are only sold to 21 and above this way the product is available and only to the right customer or else illegally such products are easily available for harmful use. Eathan suggests that the drug sale be taxed so that economical benefit can be generated. According to him the drug laws are designed in a way to cover people the producers and traffickers in drugs. Once drugs are legalized their quality can be tested and then sold rather than like now when customers are buying untested non refined drugs which harms them in many ways. Another reason of his is that there are many more addictive products available legally in the markets which are not considered harmful substances such as alcohol which is the reason of many traffic accidents, deaths and abuses though is not considered to be as harmful as the use of drugs. When analyzing his arguments it turns out that he is only interested in economical benefits from the legalization of drug use plus sometimes many people indulge in such activities for the adventure thus once legalized it may not be so much interesting to indulge in these physically harmful activities also it is a clear opposition that a few both harmful and addictive substances are readily available though some of them are considered illegal says Eathan. In many accounts when considering economic benefits and overall costs spent Eathan seems correct but it is not as easy as it sounds. People find out ways to break the law anytime they have an opportunity. Legalizing drugs in one country means legalizing its productions in other countries worldwide as then the demand will increase. Drugs are such an addictive material that once a person indulges in them it’s really hard to even earn a living thus in order to get hold of drugs they then perform illegal activities thus drug use triggers other illegal activities. Some decisions are against the general mindset and people just don’t want to accept the major and basic facts. Legalizing drugs is also not easy due to international standing of the US and its ties with other countries, for e.g. first to oppose to such a decision may be Muslim countries around the world as they consider it prohibited to indulge in addictive activities. Legalized use will surely increase the use of drugs in these countries as well. Once legalized the inflow and outflow of drugs from borders will become easier. Also if we look at the law imposed on cigarettes that they can be only sold to a particular age bracket yet teens and much younger kids in both the genders are into cigarettes smoking though the law is fully enforced in most parts of the worlds. So keeping in view of this one example we can easily understand that even drugs if legalized under controlled legal steps cannot guarantee it will not reach in hands of the most sensitive and impressionable class of youth effecting their interests and health. The argument has been opposed by many social scietists and experts. For instance, in this book writes "those who oppose mandatory minimum sentencing on so-called humanitatian grounds seldom mention that, to be eligible for even a five-year minimum sentence, a defendant must be convicted of an offense involving at least 100 kilograms (Waller 188) Another important impact of legalization will be that though States and Governments will benefit if tax is implied on Drugs by way of legalization but it will not benefit the common man rather it will have more negative impact on the masses by their involvement in drugs and drug related activities as their unhealthy expenses will increase and will burden their pockets more rather than using their earnings in more constructive manner and the end cost will be degeneration of physical and mental health. Interlinked with this increase usage of drugs freely by the people will lead to more need for rehabilitation centers to take care of health issues in extreme cases thus what funds will be generated by the States and governments from legalization of drugs will outflow in opening and developing of more rehabilitation centers. Plus free availability and accessibility of such drugs in the market will increase overall health issues; more increase in major health problem due to increased intake by the people will lead to more health cost borne by the States and governments. ‘The Legalization of Drugs’ on one side though resulting in increase income for the state will also add additional expenses to the State’s health budgets. Thus increase and decrease will have a parallel and double impact in this case. Furthermore as discussed in the beginning that drugs are such an addictive material that once a person indulges in them it’s really hard to even earn a living thus in order to get hold of drugs people perform illegal activities. In cased drugs are legalized than also illegal activities will increase two fold and may be at a more fast faced as than it will be freely available to all and more reachable and at present it is not possible for everyone to buy and use drugs as the networks who operate and sell drugs only interact with selective contacts and selective clients. So in a way it is far controlled because of this limited connection factor and once legalized it will be accessible more commonly to the masses. Drug addiction is more serious than other health conditions, many chronic diseases like diabetes, heart problems rarely are the cause for crimes, broken families and /or accidents. New avenues for discussion have been opened by the President Obama’s administration by responding towards the 2009 Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy and the 2011 Global Drug Policy Commission, chaired by former distinguished presidents by acknowledging publicly that the legalization was a “legitimate subject of debate’ added to that in his address to Latin American leaders he also mentioned that the United States was willing to consider the international drug policies where such policies are more cause for damage than good. By doing so the US president’s administration has opened new doors for a further heated debate on this sensitive issue of extremely risky legalization. Work Cited Waller, Bruce. You Decide! Current Debates in Introductory Philosophy. London: Pearson Education, 2006. Print. Read More