Drugs Should Be Legalized, in Order to Reduce Crime - Assignment Example

Drugs should be legalized, in order to reduce crime. Discuss. A serious debate surrounds the case of drug legalization, especially due to growing interest in its relationship with crimes. Drug has been historically related with criminals and underground drug cartels that are most often involved in illegal activities. This perspective has put a negative image of drugs often associating it with dark activities. For centuries and even today, drugs are used for its medicinal properties which make them good healing agent for serious diseases such as cancer. During recent decades the use of drugs for recreational purposes has also grown, particularly among young individuals. Parties happening at night, raves, and concerts are a few places where the demand for drugs among the youth is particularly high. But while legal sanctions on the sale and possession of drugs exist, underground cartels continue to operate and trade illegal drugs to young individuals. Medical doctors and science professionals disregard the use of drugs due to its adverse impact on health and well being. Excessive drug usage leads to addiction, a condition that is considered damaging for the brain functioning and may lead to mental illnesses (Horn 2008, 7). Yet the illegal drug business seems to be expanding at an alarming rate despite the presence of legal derivatives. Advocates of drug legalization argue that the criminalization of drugs has spurred illegal and shady activities thereby harboring the strengthening of drug cartels and their illegal and criminal activities (Simpson 2013, 4; Goode 1989). If only drugs were legalized, then all the hidden criminal activities would halt on its own. This paper will assess the argument by providing a legitimate discussion of both aspects of drug legalization as it harbors or mitigates criminal activity. A great deal of literature and scholarly work has been done to find out the correlation between drug usage and criminal activity. Policy makers and governments have, in particular, been keen on investigated the relationship between the two variables in order to implement more effective legal statutes and policies that help mitigate the criminal factor while at the same time reducing illegal drug usage. The term “drugs” encompasses a wide range of substances, mainly including but not limited to marijuana, cannabis, amphetamines, heroine, and so on (Bean 2014, 1). The discussion surrounding the drug and crime relationship mainly addresses the degree of drug offenses, the drug offenders, and their links with drug-related crimes which itself ranges from violent to acquisitive crimes (McBride, VanderWaal, and Terry-McElrath, 98). An empirical study by Gropper (19850 provides useful findings that relate the usage of drugs with criminality. Moreover, the status of an individual’s drugs usage was directly related to the degree to which the criminal behavior was serious. The findings thus depicted that there is indeed a link between drugs abuse and crimes as the criminal behavior seemed to increases with narcotics use and decline with periods of abstinence (Gropper, 1985). Criminal justice, in the present age, makes efforts to provide serious drug-related criminals with treatment therapies and other health related programs. Therefore, the relationship between drugs and crimes has been established indicating a connection between the two activities that may prove threatening for public security. The drug-crime correlation leads us to the criminalization aspect of drugs and the formation of underground black markets dealing in drugs. Many people claim that, instead of doing good, laws relating to drugs are actually defeating their own purpose. Due to the repressive drug laws, drugs users as well as traders are confined to the dark boundaries of their hidden settings. This paves the way for their criminalization as their hidden status breeds illegal drug cartels as well as their criminal behaviors. Instead of putting a stop to the illegal activities, the fact that they are hidden encourages suspicious, that too without coming out in the spotlight. A report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy highlights a very important issue that deal with the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic. HIV/AIDS as a serious infection is common among those who abuse drugs in a group or by sharing syringes. The distribution of the disease shows that drug users form a significant portion of the vulnerable groups. The report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy points out that the drug laws are actually promoting the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS thereby piling up to a huge pandemic. Due to the illegal status of drug usage, such individuals are forced to stay clandestine without seeking medical treatment. The most obvious implication is the spread of the disease to sexual partners and other members of the group who consume the drug together (2012, 2). While advocates of drug legalization claim a reduction in crime rates following the legalization, many medical experts do not think the same. In his article, Wilson (1990) mentioned that drug laws have actually controlled drug usage among the population and that legalization would significantly increase its use. Medical science has found various side effects related to drug usage, including its severe impact on the brain and its cognitive capacities. Continuous usage can result in the development of brain impairments and other mental illnesses that are irreversible. Due to the serious nature of such side effects, medical science continues to put weight on law enforcement authorities for a ban on its usage. Although drug legalization proponents present the argument that alcohol is more destructive than drugs, governments often look at the relative costs and implications of legal issues. In this case, legalization of drugs could actually increase health costs as drug usage becomes prevalent. Health costs form a large chunk of the government expenditures and thus legalization of drugs could imply an increase in government expenditures and a potential budget deficit. After the emergence of the drug legalization debate, many sociologists have also studied the impact of drug usage on society and its mechanics. The social consequences of drug usage are very damaging, especially to personal and community life. Addiction is a common condition caused by drug abuse and can contribute towards clashes in one’s relationship with family and friends. Sartor has explored the social effects of drug usage not only on the individual’s life but also his relationship with his peers and other factors such as health, employment and education that center around one’s position in the community (1991, 205). Drug abuse has also contributed towards many of the world problems, such as illegally producing, distributing, and trafficking illicit drugs through networks of drug cartels spread geographically in diverse locations around the world (UNDCP, 1995). Thus, the social impact of drug usage is quite devastating as it destroys individual life while also contributing towards other greater social problems of worldwide nature. As the family structure in developed countries become more and more complex and heterogeneous, so does the impact of drug abuse on families and its members. Psychological issues relating to parent drug usage is central in understanding its effect on children and other family members such as spouse. In a series by Kaufman and Yoshioka (2005), the author analyzes the impact of drug usage on children as they cope in a manner that is not typical of their age. Kaufman and Yoshioka (2005) says that children develop a denial of their parental deficiency in order to protect themselves. On other hand, if the household has an adult offspring who is a substance abuser, then the parents may take on roles that make the offspring dependent upon the family. In any case, treatment should be sought and if help is sought earlier in the phase, successful prohibition from drugs is possible. Considering the impacts of drugs on family life, it would seem rational to prohibit drug usage and implement strict drug laws. Many individuals, particularly those who use drugs for creation, claim that drugs are enjoyable due to its stimulatory effects (National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 2014), and unlike common knowledge, have not impacted their personal, educational or professional life in a negative way. Perhaps this has got to do with the minimal or controlled usage of drugs and its restriction to only a few events. This argument is presented to claim the degree of side effects which is relative. Such individuals also propose that alcohol is more destructive to health and causes more ills as opposed to drugs that are used moderately for recreational purposes. However, evidence from prisons, hospitals and other government departments also suggest the opposite where drug abusers present a case against drug legalization. Majority of the criminals associated with drug usage are charged of drug possession and not any other serious offense (Simpson 2013, 4). The presence of drug laws over the course of years have generated a set of stereotypes and other perceptions that steer an individual away from drug abusers harboring feelings of disgust. Restrictions over the use of drugs may be responsible for such as public attitude that treats drugs as an unsocial activity and one that is not accepted and thus, respected in the society. Many substance abusers feel isolated and my not seek medical help. This may result in development of more serious problems that adds up to a great social cost. Overall, the destructive impacts of drugs weigh out its advantages, which is why law enforcement authorities are right in their prohibition of the drugs. Apart from the social cost, drugs are also damaging for a specific state’s health costs as they build up alarmingly. Although proponents of drug legalization propose criminalization and its potential to reduce crime rates, reality shows that the health effects of drug abuse is high and often devastating not only for the individual but also for others around them. Also, its medical side effects cannot be ignored as it effects brain functioning, a critical component of human life. Both moderate and excessive usage, in some cases, can prove to be life threatening. However, there is a need to introduce more effective policing in order to prevent the production, selling, and distribution of drugs. Even when drugs are illegal, many young people still find ways to obtain drugs illegally. Drug regulation must, therefore, be more impactful so as to control the ills caused by drugs. Also, who ensures that drug-related criminal activity will halt as drugs are legalized. So, since crime is a complex phenomenon, drug-related crimes cannot simply be controlled by legalizing drugs. Bibliography Bean, P. (2014). Drugs and Crime. 1st ed. Oxon: Routledge. Drug Abuse: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), (2014). Health Effects. [online] Available at: http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/commonly-abused-drugs/health-effects [Accessed 30 Jun. 2014]. Goode, E. (1989). Drugs in American society. 1st ed. New York: Knopf. Gropper, B., (1984). Probing the Links Between Drugs and Crime-Research in Action. Orckville, MD: National Institute of Justice/NCJRS. Horn, G., Barnes, J. (2008). Brain science, addiction and drugs. The Academy of Medical Sciences. Kaufman, E. and Yoshioka, M. (2005). Substance abuse treatment and family therapy. 1st ed. Rockville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. McBride, D., VanderWaal, C. and Terry-McElrath, Y. (2003). The drugs-crime wars: Past, present and future directions in theory, policy and program interventions. Drugs and Crime: A Research Agenda for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice. Sartor, R. (1990). The social impact of drug abuse on community life. Medicine and law, 10(2), pp.205--208. Simpson, W. (2013). End Costly and Destructive War on Marijuana. 1st ed. [ebook] Why Legalize Marijuana. Available at: http://whylegalizemarijuana.com/pdf/End%20Costly%20and%20Destructive%20War%20on%20Marijuana.pdf [Accessed 30 Jun. 2014]. The Social Impact of Drug Abuse. (1995). 1st ed. [ebook] Copenhagen: UNDCP. Available at: https://www.unodc.org/pdf/technical_series_1995-03-01_1.pdf [Accessed 30 Jun. 2014]. The War on Drugs and HIV/AIDS. (2012). 1st ed. [ebook] Global Commission on Drug Policy. Available at: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/war-drugs-hiv-aids-20120626.pdf [Accessed 30 Jun. 2014]. Wilson, J. (1990). Against the legalization of drugs. Commentary, 89(2), pp.21--28. Read More