There is no contradiction in being pro legalization yet anti drug use legalization is in the best interests of fighting drug consumption. Content analyses of 51 new york times essays over a 20yr span of. Other states have prolegalization ballot measures pending. National organization for the reform of marijuana laws is a strong advocate for reform, especially surrounding medical marijuana issues.
The us drug enforcement agencys 2008 marijuana sourcebook argues that recent research supports the gateway hypothesis that certain drugs such as cannabis act as gateways to use of harder drugs such as heroin, either because of social contact or because of an increasing search for a better high. But, this does not eliminate the immorality of drug consumption and of the drug trade. The importance of asking the right question mark a. This is taken from an updated version of my answer to a similar question 1.
Many people believe that the legalization of drugs will allow the government to gain more control and therefore reducing crime on the streets. The drug legalization debate sage publications ltd. First, it will decrease the rebellious glamor of consumption. What policy change will bring about such good news. Legalization of drugs has become a huge discussion in the united states. Its costs are well documented in an article in the same issue.
The debate over the legalization of drugs continues to disturb the american public. Other states have pro legalization ballot measures pending. Drug legalization would, if done right, mean more resources for the state to put toward antiorganized crime operations. The pros and cons of legalization of drugs in the united states 14 words 5 pages. Analyzed 2 convenience samples of opinion essays from us newspapers to examine differences in the content and complexity of argumentation in the drug legalization debate. Arguments for and against drug prohibition wikipedia. We disagree with a recent cmaj article calling for decriminalization of possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use.
A book to back up eric goodes drug legalization debate 1997 and other recent surveys of. Billions of dollars have been spent on the war on drugs. Advocates of drug legalization believe drug use is a good thing, and would like to see more of it. Well if you posted your argument in round 1 than i change the rules and i will adress the issues you have presented and say why i think drugs should be legalized now,first of all i would like to make a little speech why i think drugs should be legalized. San diego, california legalizing drugs bonnie szumski, editorial director scott barbour, managing editor louise i. This volume delves into the history of drug use and abuse in america and the federal governments approach to drug controlincluding deterrence, treatment. Pdf a content analysis of the drug legalization debate. Oct 17, 2000 almost daily in our practices we see the consequences of misusing a drug that is legal, readily available, often socially acceptable and relatively cheap. May 30, 2012 drug legalization could create more crime viridiana rios is a doctoral fellow at the harvard kennedy school whose most recent research has focused on understanding violence within mexicos illegal. In the united states, anyone can legally consume the caffeine in soda or chocolate, but no one can legally consume heroin. The legalization of drugs has been an enormous issue in politics for an extremely long time.
There are both pros and cons to drug legalization, but libertarians believe it would be a net benefit. Both sides of the issue of the legalization of drugs. Alcohol and cigarettes can be consumed legally by adults but not by children. Jan 08, 2015 advocates of drug legalization believe drug use is a good thing, and would like to see more of it. Despite the economic boons that the legalization of drugs can provide to economies, there are other reasons for remaining steady with the status quo of keeping illicit drug use outside the scope of the law. Below are 8 reasons i believe 90% or more of all drugs should be legal. The first sample was of fiftyone new york times essays from the 1970s and 1980s. Drug liberalization proponents hold differing reasons to support liberalization, and have differing policy proposals. A book to back up eric goodes drug legalization debate 1997 and other recent surveys of the topic. Governments have invested significant efforts to curb both the consumption and the trafficking of illegal drugs. The legalization of marijuana has generated much debate. The author points out that our drug policy can be described as asking other countries not to sell us something we very much want. Pew research center, in debate over legalizing marijuana.
Gerdes, book editor legalization of drugs the book 21104 1. I ask all of you to please keep an open mind and hear me out on this very. Proponents of this argument, legalization of drugs, represent a crosssection of society and include academicians, politicians, journalists, a few criminal justice practitioners and others. How to hold your own in a drug legalization debate. Their argument proponents of legalization suggest that the experiences of countries such as great britain, the netherlands, and switzerland prove the efficacy of legalizing or decriminalizing various types of illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. The positions of milton friedman, nobel laureate economist, and robert weiner, spokesman for. But there doesnt seem to be any solid evidence that drugrelated. A content analysis of the drug legalization debate rand.
Prime minister stephen harper spent the past weekend at the summit of the americas, where the most pressing issue was the problem of drug trafficking. Both practically and philosophically speaking, addictive drugs should be legalized. Against legalizing drug production and distribution. The drug legalization debate download ebook pdf, epub. The term legalization, as used in the current debate, covers a wide variety of proposals. Retaining the focus and spirit of the widely adopted and acclaimed first edition, the drug legalization debate, second edition, offers several alternatives and addresses the major issues involved in the continuing drug legalization debate. The ten factual assertions, taken together, present an accurate picture of americas experience with drug use, the current state of the drug problem, and what might. It has been going continuously about the benefits of legalization of drugs. The great drug policy debate milbank memorial fund.
A content analysis of the drug legalization debate sage journals. Clarke smith, a member of the california academy of family practice just got back from there last week and reported that heroin and cocaine are currently being prescribed and that the authorities consider it quite successful. Click download or read online button to get the drug legalization debate book now. Apr 19, 2016 global debate over war on drugs heads to u.
But, if druguse is legalized, governments could tax the sale of drugs and use the revenue to advance treatment and fight consumption. The drug seems to be everywhere here, smoked by people walking across the street or consumed in an. There is yet no agreement on the rules of the game, that is, how the debate is to be conducted and what will. Students will find their research speeded by the abstracts in the table of contents and the concluding general index, as well as the helpful annotated list of organizations to contact for further information. The debate over drug legalization appears frequently in the media as a potential solution to issues such as drug trafficking and other problems related to drug use.
The authors analyzed two convenience samples of opinion essays from u. Lets take a look at some of the arguments from both sides of the medical marijuana issue. This booklet, speaking out against drug legalization, is designed to cut through the fog of misinformation with hard facts. For purposes of the drug legalization debate, there are three basic groups of illegal substances. Write a paper analyzing the arguments about legalizing drugs in the united states. Voices from two sides of the medical marijuana drug abuse. But, if drug use is legalized, governments could tax the sale of drugs and use the revenue to advance treatment and fight consumption.
Some of the benefits include the fact that drug trafficking and the costs of marijuana will go significantly down with legalization, which. The two most common positions are drug legalization or re legalization, and drug decriminalization. It also examines drug use trends at the end of the millennium, the use of cannabis as a. Arguments against medical uses of prohibited drugs. Supporters say that will generate tax revenue and free up law enforcement resources. The following pages are actual excerpts from some of my debates on drug policy. Drug legalization debate legal history of american marijuana prohibition marijuana, the first 12,000 years dea ruling on medical marijuana.
An immoral drug trade should be confined to criminalagents rather than governments. Such an issue stirs up moral and religious beliefs, beliefs that are contrary to what americans should believe. Retaining the focus and the spirit of the acclaimed first edition, the drug legalization debate, second edition, addresses the major issues involved in the continuing drug legalization debate including deterrence, treatment, education, and prevention. Drug legalization could create more crime viridiana rios is a doctoral fellow at the harvard kennedy school whose most recent research has focused on understanding violence within mexicos illegal. The experience of foreign countries and drug legalization discussion i. Financially, legally, and morally, the war on drugs 2 has been a prolonged and. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. For persons who worry about what drug decriminalization means for children, husak counsels that there is more to fear from prosecution and conviction of youth for using drugs than there is to fear from the drugs themselves. Klebet of yale university, my deputy in charge of demand reduction, predicts legalization might cause a fivetosixfold increase in cocaine use. Supporters of legalization point to the fact that prohibiting marijuana usage has been largely ineffective at curbing the use of the drug. You argue that advocates of ending the drug war celebrate drug use, and endorse it, and are campaigning, in effect, for more people to use drugs.
This paper aims to make an analysis of drug legalization debate in the united states, where in recent years comprehensive studies and researches have been conducted on this issue. Technically speaking, legalizing drugs will reduce crime in the simple sense that drugs will no longer be illegal and selling drugs will no longer be a crime. Department of justice drug enforcement administration. Legalizing drugs legalization of drugs the book 21104 1. There are both pros and cons to drug legalization, but libertarians believe it would be a net. Drug legalization debatea key policy question concerning drugs is whether it should be legal to produce and use a drug. Drug legalization time for a real debate brookings. Colorado and washington recently voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. This classification means that the government has adjudged marijuana to have a high potential for abuse while having no officially approved medical utility. The two most common positions are drug legalization or relegalization, and drug decriminalization. A remarkable feature of this debate is that strong support exists for almost any position in the drugpolicy debate. There does need to be a sensible debate about drug laws and reform where necessary but, as importantly, the law needs to be uniform in its application. Review opinions on the online debate legalization of drugs. Seventyfive percent of people in prison are there on drug or drugrelated crime charges.
The wrong message of legalizing illicit drugs this is a pamphlet put out by the partnership for a drugfree america which basically states that it is wrong to talk about drug policy reform because even talking about it encourages drug. A real debate that acknowledges the unavoidable complexities and uncertainties surrounding the notion of drug legalization is long overdue. Debate should marijuana be legalized in the united states. Legalization of drugs is one of those alternative policies which is hotly debated in the industrialized countries. A hotly debated issue, drug legalization, like many other topics, has many pros and cons, and many reasons for both sides. Not only would it dissuade people from making the kinds. Is it time to legalize drugs or is this a war that were winning. He further states that the we should be talking about the one thing that can really put a stop to all this. Drug legalization debate divides the americas cbc news. Trends in the last decade in the european union and united nations martin jelsma tni april 2008 i. Marijuana decriminalization and legalization drug policy alliance. The legalization debate today is very different from when it began with the hearings for the marijuana tax act of 1937 that effectively made it illegal through high taxation.
Thc delta9tetrahydrocannabinol is the main active chemical in marijuana, and it is responsible for the drugs psychoactive effects. However, legalization of marijuana does not appear to be associated with a reduction in nonmarijuana drug crimes. There is no contradiction in being prolegalization yet antidrug use legalization is in the best interests of fighting drug consumption. The wrong message of legalizing illicit drugs this is a pamphlet put out by the partnership for a drug free america which basically states that it is wrong to talk about drug policy reform because even talking about it encourages drug. The united states has been battling on the war on drugs. Legalization of drugs not the answer pubmed central pmc. There is drug related anarchy abroad,2 as the cocaine dealers of colombia declare war on their government. She argues that the abstinencecentered arguments of the popular debate about the war on drugs and myths about drug use have caused physicians to worry about causing addiction.
The controlled substances act csa of 1990 categorizes marijuana as a schedule i drug. About eight months ago, i moved to california from texas two states that have very different viewpoints when it comes to legalizing medical marijuana. The debate about legalization of drugs 1782 words bartleby. This is especially true of addictive, mindaltering drugs like marijuana. It also examines drug use trends at the end of the millennium, the use of cannabis as a wonder drug and a look at whether legalizing drugs. Although the authors both agree that medical marijuana should be made available to aids and cancer patients, the issue is still controversial and will be included here. Oct 31, 2014 these videos are not for entertainment, they are clearly fair dealing under uk law and are exempt as they are reporting current affairs, as i am sure you are aware uk courts bear in. In the meantime, drug trafficker violence had at least temporarily abated, and the space created by a relatively less intense war on drugs in colombia allowed for a broader relaunching of the legalization debate. Wellknown journalists, such as antonio caballero, daniel samper and antonio panesso, insisted on the relevance of legalization. The drug legalization debate 2nd edition by various. The drug market the demand side can be best be undermined through an intelligent education program it will take time, private and government business testing for abuse yea it may be legal, but if youre going to use it, you cant work here, and even getting the insurance companies involved if. Introduction the drug crisis is regular frontpage fare. Initial considerations drug control originates from a desire to protect human wellbeing.