The idea of Drug Prohibition made sense: lower the availability of drugs by the use of law
enforcement. Unfortunately, Drug Prohibition means heavy costs while proving to be
ineffective and counterproductive.
I was thirteen when I saw drugs for the first time. I was with some of my friends that
live down the road from me. They asked me if I wanted to get high with them. At the
time, I didn't know what getting high meant, so I asked them. One of them pulled ut a
long slender object, similar to a cigarette, but twisted on either end. They told me it
was something special. I was still bewildered. They said "It's pot, you know,
marijuana?" Immediately I said no. I had seen several anti-dug commercials, all with
the same motto, "Just Say No". I felt so good about myself. I had done the right thing.
I said no to my friends, which is a very hard decision to make at that age. I was not
going to be one of those sad cases, where my life is wasted away. I was not going to be
a crazed addict, who would stop at nothing to get a hit. I was not going to be dodging
the law my whole life. I was going to be everything I wanted to be, and drugs were
definitely not going to get in the way. I promised myself I would not end up like Jimi
Hendrix, or Janis Joplin, both found dead after overdoses, because I had the power to say
no. I had read stories and seen news flashes about the side effects of some drugs. I
had read newspaper articles about people in Rome, which is just a few minutes away, dying
of heroin overdoses. I had seen people on TV that were alive, but were not conscious of
their surroundings, because of drug use. Their lives were basically over. I had
listened to speakers preach that drugs were one of the Devil's tools. There was no way I
would even consider ever trying them, because once a person starts, they can't stop.
It was a few years later that I heard the other side of the story. I learned that not
only were we losing the war on drugs, but that the war had been corrupted. The
government was wasting money on something without a cause, or hope. It wasn't long after
that when I tried marijuana for the first time. I remember it well. I was with my
sister, who was the only person that I couldn't say no to. I took a hit. Within fifteen
minutes, I felt the most exquisite feeling I had ever experienced. I felt as though I
was in a different world. It was at this moment that I knew things would be different
for me, but I was still unsure about it, because I had heard of the dangers of drug use.
I decided to do a little research. I looked in health magazines, I looked in Rolling
Stone magazine, and I read some computer articles about the sixties. I also casually
talked to several people who had experience with drugs. It was through this research
that I found out some interesting facts.
First was the mere cost of the war on drugs. The federal government spends billions of
dollars a year on drug enforcement and billions more on drug-related crimes and
punishment. The estimated cost to the United States for this war on drugs is $200
billion a year, or $770 per person, according to statistics posted by CNN, and that does
not include the money spent by state and local governments. Despite this expensive
effort to enforce drug laws, the result is rather poor.
According to the United States history, Prohibition has not only proved ineffective, but
also counterproductive, when referring to the eighteenth amendment. Not only is the
illegality of drugs today also ineffective, it leads to huge profits for drug
traffickers, which leads to other crimes. Studies have shown that while the amount of
money spent on the war on drugs has increased dramatically, so has the amount of drug
use. A study conducted by CNN has shown a twenty percent increase in the use of
marijuana.
Another interesting fact is that most illegal drugs are less dangerous, and could be
legal. Even harsh drugs, such as heroin and cocaine are proving to be less dangerous. In
fact, in the twenties, cocaine was viewed as a wonder drug. It was an effective pain
killer, it relaxed the body and proved to dramatically reduce stress, yet it showed very
few side effects. After a while, however, people started finding new ways to use it.
These ways would not only perform the tasks the drug was intended to perform, they would
actually give the person a euphoric sensation. However, these ways of using it were not
as safe as using pills or soft drinks, which also had cocaine in them. People died after
inhaling too much cocaine. The government had to take action, so they made cocaine
completely illegal, taking away a very good drug.
Heroin is also not as bad as was originally thought. Heroin, like cocaine, is a very
effective pain killer. The problem with heroin is that it is highly addictive, and too
much of it can kill. However, this is the case with many prescription drugs. Too much
Tylenol could kill a person, as ibuprofen is definitely harmful in large amounts. If
heroin was used strictly for medical purposes, and was not only prescribed by doctors,
but also regulated by doctors, it's use could be an asset.
There is also the issue of marijuana. Every year close to twenty thousand people die of
alcohol related incidents. Each year close to thirty thousand people die of tobacco
related diseases, either lung cancer or emphysema, yet there has never been a death on
record that is directly related to marijuana. The only deaths related to marijuana have
been murders associated with drug dealers and traffickers. If marijuana was legal, these
deaths would cease to occur. Also, compared to the side effects of alcohol, the side
effects of marijuana are minimal. The only side effects of marijuana are induced hunger
and what is referred to as "cotton mouth", which is a dry, pasty feeling in the mouth.
The side effects of alcohol, however include nausea, possibly vomiting, loss of
coordination, not to mention deterioration of the liver and stomach. Marijuana, like
cocaine and heroin, could also have medical purposes. THC, which is the chemical in
marijuana that affects the nervous system, can be used to counteract the side effects of
chemotherapy for cancer patients. There is virtually no solid reason why marijuana
should be illegal.
I personally believe that some drugs should be legal. If they are being used for
medical purposes, the government should pass legislation tightening the availability of
prescriptions for these drugs, not make them completely illegal, taking away their good
sides as well as their bad sides.
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