Should All Drugs Be Legalized Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Should All Drugs Be Legalized - Essay Example On the other hand, those who violently oppose the legalization of all drugs contend that legalization would actually make â€Å"harmful, psychoactive, and addictive substances affordable, available, convenient, and marketable. It would expand the use of drugs. It would remove the social stigma attached to illicit drug use, and would send a message of tolerance for drug use, especially to youth† (Drug Watch International, 2001, par. 1). The current discourse hereby asserts that all drugs should be legalized to eradicate the costs of prohibition, to lower its prices, and to minimize repercussive violence that results from illegal trade and criminal activities that ensue from the sale and use. At the current status of governmental policies and regulations of restricting the sale and use of drugs, statistics have consistently revealed that ther are more incidences of addiction and costs to society All Drugs Must be Legalized The legalization of drugs would eradicate the costs of p rohibition. As asserted by a Harvard University professor, Jeffrey Miron, the costs of prohibiting drugs are enormous. In the United States, for instance, it was revealed that â€Å"If it legalized drugs, the United States could save $85 billion to $90 billion per year. Roughly half that is spent on the current drugs policy and half that is lost in taxes that the state could have levied on legal drugs† (Miron, 2013, par. 4). ... eral deficits by eliminating expenditure on prohibition enforcement -- arrests, prosecutions, and incarceration -- and by allowing governments to collect tax revenue on legalized sales† (Ghosh, 2010, par. 8). As disclosed, the savings that would be generated from legalization would definitely outweigh the costs of prohibition. Likewise, by legalizing drugs, the black markets would be eliminated and therefore, the prices of drugs would significantly decrease (Drug Watch International, 2001). Birrell averred that â€Å"legalisation would replace the freest of markets that currently exists to the benefit of the world's most vicious crooks with a system in which supply is controlled, products regulated and profits taxed† (Birrell, 2013, par. 8). Thus, the elimination of the black markets would likewise eliminate absence of accountability and make the sale of drugs safer and more secure. Finally, if the prohibition or restriction of the sale and use of drugs are lifted, viole nce and drug-related criminal activities would be reduced, minimized or out rightly prevented. According to Vibes (2013), â€Å"the steady increase in violent crime over the past few decades is directly correlated with the escalation of the drug war† (par. 4). This was supported by Miron (2013) who emphasized that â€Å"prohibition leads to violence. By making a black market inevitable, you generate violence because the conflicts between the parties involved in the drug trade can't be solved by legal means within the judicial system† (par. 20). In fact, from the statistics disclosed by the U.S. Department of Justice, it was noted that â€Å"state and local law enforcement agencies made an estimated 1,336,500 arrests for drug possession or use in 2010† (Snyder, 2010, p. 11). In the UK, it was disclosed