The Decriminalization Of Drugs

Drug abuse is a major problem throughout the world. Drugs can influence the everyday lives of people, whether they be users, dealers, drug-related crime victims, or the friends and family of a person affected. Violent crime, prostitution, government corruption, and more can all have a link to narcotics. Much of the world, including the United States, try to stop these effects of illicit drugs by focusing on stricter laws and enforcement. Yet this this approach may be counterproductive. Although some people think the “tough on crime” approach is the best way to deal with drug problems, the truth is decriminalizing drugs is the best approach. With decriminalization, the negative effects of current drug policy can be lessened.

Marijuana has existed for many years and has remained illegal in many states but has become legalized for recreational use in four states, which are Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Alaska. Medical Marijuana has become legalized in thirteen states, some of which are California, New Jersey, Michigan, etc. That signifies that medical marijuana is legalized in twenty five percent of the states, and that recreational marijuana is legalized in less than one percent of the states. Some people deem that recreational marijuana should be legalized for numerous reasons including the positive overall health effects they suspect that it provides. Opposing that argument, Recreational marijuana should not be legalized in all fifty states for countless reasons

The legalization of drugs has been at the center of interminable debate. Drugs have widely been perceived as a dominant threat to the moral fabric of society. Drug use has been attributed as the source responsible for a myriad of key issues. For instance, it is believed that drugs have exacerbated the already weak status of mental health in the United States in which some individuals suffering from mental illness administer illicit substances such as heroin or cocaine in an attempt to self-medicate. Moreover, drugs are blamed for turning auspicious members of the community into worthless degenerates. Thus, vast efforts have been made to regulate the alleged drug problem through various avenues. For example, programs have been created to steer

For years, the United States and Mexico have been engaged in operations to halt the production of drugs south of the border as well as their shipment to the United States, which is world’s largest drug market.   However, the genesis of the current Drug War is commonly traced back to the 2000s for a couple of reasons.  Just days after taking office in December 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon  kicked off a veritable “war” against the cartels when he sent 6,500 soldiers and police into his home state of Michoacan to  organized crime  in this area. Mexican society is largely homogeneous and socially conservative.

However, despite the reliance on the food and agriculture sector, Colombia’s drug trade makes up 1 percent of the country’s GDP, and the cartels are estimated to export $10 billion annually. To put this into perspective, this means that the illegal drug trade roughly makes up a quarter of Colombia’s legal exports. Out of the $10 billion annually exported by the drug cartels, $4.6 billion of the profits were exports sent to the United States. According to a report released by Business Insider, about 90 percent of the cocaine used by American’s originate from Colombia. In addition, Colombian groups control the distribution of cocaine and heroin in the United States across 40 different cities, primarily located in the

activities, the more efficient will be the outcome of separate events. The trafficking of dangerous drugs is not a local issue but rather national and international in scope. Drug trafficking groups and organizations do not limit their actions to any particular geographic boundary. Intelligence gathering and distribution to assist in identifying all levels of criminal trafficking organization are necessary for coordination and to stop duplication of effort. Accordingly, various federal, state, and local agencies have joined forces on national as well as regional levels, to achieve better results.

The United States State Department estimates that 90% of cocaine arrive from the Mexican borders. Impressively many cartels operate methamphetamine labs and grow marijuana in many American states. In fact, seeking to stop the trade of illicit drugs the United States delivered $197 million to the Mexican government to fight against cartels. However, until the American citizens stop consuming cocaine the cause is hopeless. Although, the United States’ government has put impressive efforts to reduce the demand of cocaine, it remained the same as it used to be a few years ago.

People believe that if marijuana is legalized users will get addicted. Marijuana use disorder become what is known as addiction when “the person cannot stop using the drug even though it interferes with many aspects of his or her life” (“Is Marijuana Addictive”). Although addiction is a problem, out of all the people who use marijuana, only 9% become dependent on it (“Is Marijuana Addictive”). Also, opioids and painkillers are very addictive as well, and they can lead to an overdose resulting in death. The second concern is abuse.

The previous decades saw increased the decriminalization of certain drugs, such as marijuana, as they began to be used more casually. However, the 1980s and the specifically the Reagan administration saw the “War on Drugs” start. Led by Nancy Reagan, the “Just Say No” campaign dominated the headlines as parents became concerned about their children using drugs (Goode & Ben-Yehuda, n.d.). Under new leadership, the government began to criminalize drug use to unprecedented levels.

Today the demands are changing in different states. In States such as Colorado and Washington, marijuana has been legalized for recreational use. This move raised several questions as far as decriminalization of marijuana is concerned. Besides portraying the US in a bad light, legalization of marijuana for recreation increases the risk of developing mental problems, increases government expenditure on public health, jeopardizes the future of children, and is a gateway to other dangerous drugs. Increased health problems and public health expenditure-

In the 1960’s marijuana use had no outstanding effects on the United States people but in today's society the use of marijuana had become a huge epidemic over the past years. Even though it has been scientifically proven that marijuana can help seizures, Crohn’s, and effects of cancer, yet many people in today's society still believe that it has no use. In the United States 45 percent of drug arrest in 2013 were due to marijuana, but at Woodstock in 1969 when there was a controversial “Drug War” no one was arrested for marijuana (Merino par. 3). The use of marijuana is more strict in the United States now then it was in

The 2014 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) Summary discourses evolving expansions associated with the trafficking and use of main illicit drugs abuse. The U.S. seizures of illegal substances in shipment exceeded 1,626 metric tons, demonstrating that DTOs have great succeed in shipping thousand tons of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, and MDMA into the United States each year. (DEA 2014) There are exceptional smuggling and shipping methods related with each drug type, but drug seizure statistics and federal, state, and local law enforcement reporting shows that smuggling overland and transportation by vehicle surpass all other methods of smuggling combined. The 2014 National Drug Control Strategy, in which has had very little

Until recently the use of marijuana has been criminalized. In the article “Marijuana Legalization and Decriminalization” it states “Marijuana has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes.” However during its prohibition people were arrested and sent to jail for selling and using it illegally. Alcohol was banned in the 1920’s and the ban was persuaded by the Anti-Saloon League as well as ideas of progressivism and religion. Although both are now legalized and becoming legalized the legalization process is more dissimilar than it is similar because of the uses of the substance's, State vs. Federal position, effects of the movement, processes it went through, and causes of government action.

This subject has been debated numerous times over the past few years. People’s points of view and researches about the topic have varied greatly. Some people believe that marijuana should be legalized, while the rest feel should stay prohibited. Proponents of marijuana argue that there are numerous medical benefits and that the drug is not more harmful than tobacco or alcohol. On the other hand, opponents argue that marijuana is too dangerous; its legalization would increase the chances of the drug falling into the hands of teens and that marijuana use often progresses to the use of more dangerous drugs like heroin and cocaine.

As of recent, the war on drugs has been a very often discussed topic due to many controversial issues. Some people believe the War on Drugs has been quite successful due to the amount of drugs seized and the amount of drug kingpins arrested. I believe this to be the wrong mindset when it comes to the war on drugs. The war on drugs isn’t a winnable one so we must do all that is possible to assist those who struggle with drug addiction and decriminalize small amounts of drugs. These minor changes in the way we combat drugs will create significant change and have lasting effects.