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While researching this issue that I am very much on the fence about, I came across a video of Sir Richard Bronson being interviewed on CNN, and one of the things he said is that “drugs should be treated as a health problem, not a criminal problem (Bronson, 2012) (Justice, 2010).” A simple statement with so much power. I think that encapsulates my general attitude of the idea of drug legalization, but beyond that, things get a little hazy.
First of all, I think the term “war on drugs” needs to be examined. The very word war makes me uncomfortable, because there hasn’t been a war since the conception of civilization where no died. In Nixon’s famous war on drugs speech, he speaks about actually declaring war on drug abuse. Sounds like a phenomenal idea to me. There should be focus on prevention and treatment of drug issues, just as Sir Bronson said in his interview. However, as the statistics show, the outcome has been very different.
Overwhelmingly, sources online state a staggering statistic. More than fifty percent of the people in our prison system are incarcerated due to a drug related offense. A friend of mine was arrested at one point and time for the possession of thirty eight pounds of marijuana. The prosecutor, who was the same prosecutor who gave my brother’s murderers twenty years in jail, was going to put my friend in jail for one year for every pound of pot. That’s thirty eight years in prison for a plant. Breaking down the costs of this one incident, with marijuana being valued around fifty dollars for an eighth ounce, the total street value of those drugs was $243,200. The cost to incarcerate and house my friend would have taken $950,000, on a low end estimate of twenty five thousand dollars a year. That doesn’t incorporate anything but incarceration. No factor for the money that the local economy and his family loses because he is in prison.
Let’s step away from the money aspect for a while and focus on something more important. The issue of lives lost, both domestic and abroad, from our declared war on drugs. According to the Department of Justice, the illegal drug market in the U.S. is dominated by 900,000 criminally active gang members affiliated with 20,000 street gangs in more than 2,500 cities (Justice, 2010), and that Mexican drug cartels now directly control illegal drug markets in at least 230 American cities (Justice, Drug Trafficking Organizations, 2008). Aside from the near million people already dedicated to throwing their lives away, how many people do you think die every year because of these criminal syndicates?
Let me digress, and answer the original question. Should full legalization for drugs occur? For drugs aside from marijuana, I would not agree with full legalization. Decriminalization would be the best choice I believe, or full legalization with the stipulation that it be treated like alcohol in public and be tested for with jobs, just as usual. It takes a fair amount of wind out of the sails of criminal syndicates, and lets people make their own choices. I’m reminded of the saying, “Take off the labels and let the idiots sort themselves out.” In this case, perhaps it’s the best policy.
References
Bronson, S. R. (2012, 12 6). Richard Branson on the 'War on Drugs'. (E. Burnett, Interviewer) CNN. Retrieved from
Justice, D. o. (2008, 12 1). Drug Trafficking Organizations. Retrieved from National Drug Intelligence Center Archives: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs31/31379/dtos.htm
Justice, D. o. (2010, 2 1). National Drug Threat Assessment. Retrieved from National Drug Intelligence Center Archives: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs38/38661/38661p.pdf
I think a big question that comes into play is does the government have the right to tell me what I can do with my own body? They certainly want to regulate the kind of food on our shelves.
How many pharmaceuticals have been deemed "safe" for the general public to consume, only to find a few years later that it kills you instead? Dry eyes? We've got a drug for that! Restless legs? We've got a drug for that too! But the side effects may kill you.
So then how are these drugs any better or worse than recreational drugs or alcohol? Personally, I don't do drugs, although I do like beer or wine in moderation. I just don't think the government should have their hands in this, and your point about the money adds even more weight to the argument.
I agree. There is an argument to be made for regulation, but people will do as they choose regardless. I also want to take wind out of the drug cartel's sails, or at least make it to where people don't have to die for the underground industry. Make it an industry that can be monitored. It helps out a lot.
I love your argument. Thorough. I'm letting it settle in my blood stream. I love where you argued that people always die when they say "war." I'm sorry for the loss of your brother, and the skewed justice he got.
I thank you for your kind words. I forgot I had put the piece about my brother in there. That was a rough situation. It's no master's thesis, but I think I will upload more soon.
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Thank you! :)
The government have no right to tell us what we can and can't do with our bodies. It's just one more facet of our lives they're meddling in.
Good post dude.
I still think they should offer options for those choosing to better themselves. There is a difference between dictating our lives and being there for us when we want to change. Marijuana is damn near harmless, barring people doing stupid stuff while high. I still think things should be regulated to a point though.