Persuasive Essay On Decriminalizing All Drugs

Portugal's success would be the ideal model for Canada to base decriminalization of illicit drugs. Although Canada does not have as much of a drug epidemic that Portugal had before decriminalization, statistics show the country has rising rates of both heroin and meth use. Treating this evident problem with a different approach has been gathering heavy support over the years. Support behind this legal movement in Canada includes the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and the Green Party of Canada. Not only were drugs decriminalized in Portugal, the entire system was reconstructed to aid those addicted. Both the reduce in law enforcement towards illicit drugs and the increase in funding towards treatment paid off greatly for Portugal. Overdose death went down by 72% while the spread of HIV went down by 94%. Canada has prioritized the war on drugs, although the method being followed does not prove effective. It might prove better to abandon this current war in favour for public health, following Portugal's lead in providing harm reduction treatment and treating the addiction as the public health crisis that it

The complete banning of all drugs means that each user is a criminal; illegal purchasing, illegal means of financing the addiction, and association with fellow criminals of varying degrees. By studying the interactions between addicts and their dealers there is a clear cycle of dependency. Addicts are spending well above their means to fund their problem and making their money in illegal activities. Decreasing criminal activity by making drug substances legal, affordable, and accessible sounds bleak breaking the cycle is the plausible solution no matter political or personal

“Drug policy regarding the control of the traditional illicit substances (opiates, cocaine, cannabis) is currently moving through upbeat times in almost all Western countries. Prohibition on the basis of repressive law enforcement not only seems to fail on a large scale, but also to create vast additional costs, problems, and harm for drug consumers, who often find themselves in extreme social, economic, and health conditions” (Fischer 1995: 389).

With addiction rates rising every year, the overwhelming drug dilemma has opened the eyes of numerous governments around the world. This paper will discuss what decriminalization is and if decriminalizing drugs in the United States will lead to lower crime rates and lower incarceration rates. In addition, it will discuss the impact decriminalization will have on society, the effect it will have on the economy and finally how it influences the now addicted, should legalization occur. Currently, Portugal has decriminalized all drugs in every drug classification for recreational use. Furthermore, Colorado is the only state in the United States, to have decriminalized marijuana. In looking at the drug laws in Portugal, Colorado, Mexico, and the Netherlands this review will examine what appears to be working and not working of both decriminalizing and keeping certain drug classifications illegal. Multiple web-based articles, books, and peer-reviewed articles were the many sources used in researching this paper. Can drug decriminalization be a practical way to cut down on drug related crimes? Will it benefit society, boost the economy, and help the addict? Based on this research I have concluded at a federal level, the United States should decriminalize

We should decriminalize drugs in the U.S. instead of legalizing them. Decriminalization refers to the lessening of criminal penalties of certain acts. According to De Marneffe, “… the legalization of drugs … [is] the removal of criminal penalties for the manufacture, sale, and possession of large quantities of recretational drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine” (346).

The systematic scheduling of drugs in the United States is arbitrary which leads to a discriminative social injustice. Some psychedelic substances such as Psilocybin are schedule 1 drugs, while alcohol and nicotine are legal. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) both alcohol and nicotine are proven to be harmful and addictive (2017). Conversely, Psychedelic substances have not been proven to be addictive. This equates to a social injustice that discriminates over someone who may prefer the effects of psilocybin to nicotine, even under the science that has shown nicotine and alcohol have a higher potential for abuse. Unfortunately, many political factors come into play regarding the legal status of drugs and industries such as the pharmaceutical, tobacco and alcohol industries, who harbor the most money and have an influence in the legality of drugs whether they are safe or not. While legalizing psychedelic substances would most likely cut into profits for these large industries they would bring about economic benefits as well.

As seen in countries like Portugal, where all drugs have been decriminalized and looked at a public health issue rather than a crime, drug use among young adults have gone down. Overall adult use has cutback slightly, and HIV infections and drug-related deaths have remarkably

In July, 2001 Portugal 's Law 30/20001 decriminalized all drugs. Under the new law, possession of small amounts of drugs (~10 days or less worth of personal use), while still legally prohibited, were no longer grounds for criminal offense. This approach was taken from a public health perspective and was accompanied by a concurrent increase in treatment and harm-reduction options.2 The combination of decriminalization, taking drug-users out of the criminal justice system, and investment in harm-reduction, providing users with effective treatment options, led to material gains in public health, including significant reductions of drug overdose death and HIV infection.3

One the many controversies in our country today, regards the prohibition of illegal narcotics. Deemed unhealthy, hazardous, and even fatal by the authorities that be; the U.S. government has declared to wage a “war on drugs.” It has been roughly fifteen years since this initiative has begun, and each year the government shuffles more money into the unjust cause of drug prohibition. Even after all of this, the problem of drugs that the government sees still exists. The prohibition of drugs is a constitutional anomaly. There are many aspects and sides to look at the issue from, but the glaring inefficiency current laws exude is that any human should have the right to ingest anything he or she desires. The antagonist on the other end

Just Say No.” This phrase was uttered in 1982 by Nancy Reagan, the first lady of the United States, in response to a schoolgirl’s question of what she should do if offered drugs (Weinraub A5). These words became the slogan for a nationwide substance abuse prevention program that followed the then recently enacted drug policies intended to discourage the manufacture, sale, and use of illicit drugs in the United States. These zero tolerance policies carried harsh penalties and strict enforcement for all drug related offenses. Almost four decades later, these policies are still in effect, as is their focus on criminalization as a means to reduce the availability and usage of drugs. Their ineffectiveness is evidenced by the facts that drug use rates have remained steady over the past four decades and incarceration rates have exponentially rose during that same period. I believe that a new course of action should be taken, and a bold new drug policy should be enacted. Decriminalization would result in a substantial decrease of the prison population, relieve the unnecessary burden that has been placed on our criminal justice system, shift the paradigm from drug enforcement to drug treatment, reduce the health risk of HIV, AIDS, and heroin related deaths; and provide unprecedented benefits from the regulation of the manufacturing and sales of substances that are currently illegal.

For many years, a real push has been looming on the idea of legalizing now illegal drugs. This has become a hot debate throughout nations all over the world, from all walks of life. The dispute over the idea of decriminalizing illegal drugs is and will continue on as an ongoing conflict. In 2001, Drug decriminalization in all drugs, including cocaine and heroin, became a nationwide law in Portugal (Greenwald). Ethan Nadelman, essayist of “Think again: Drugs,” states his side of the story on the continuing criminalization of hard drugs, in which he stand to oppose. Whether it is for the good of human rights or not, decriminalizing drugs may be a good head start for a new beginning.

Across Europe the trend to and argument for decriminalization is on the rise. Advocates for legalization of drugs across Europe have touted Portugal 's success and have tried to use it as a unilateral expression of decriminalization as a complete success. Portugal 's success is very much also attributed to an overhaul on the healthcare and treatment of drug addicts rather than being the simple result of decriminalization (Aleem). The Czech Republic recently joined Portugal in decriminalizing drugs in 2010. The mainufacture and distribution of drugs are still highly illegal, but drug users who simply possess or even use are now free of the fear of persecution. Possession of up to 15 grams of marijuana, five grams of hash, 40 psychodelic mushrooms, one and a half grams of heroin, and a gram of cocaine are considered a usable supply of drugs in the Czech Republic. Success within the country can be measured in that roughly 70 percent of the nation 's problematic drug users maintain regular contact with outreach programs and needle exchange programs. The Netherlands has noted a drop in opiate dependencies thanks to a long-established needle exchange program along with allowing the prescription of maintenance doses of diamorphine and methadone (O 'Neill).

Us as a country need to look at the changes Portugal has taken, our drug problem is at a all time high, if we where to relax and monitor the drug epidemic our country could win in so many ways. If they where to take the approach that officer Peter Christ was stating that if the government would change the law like they did with alcohol in the 1930s, or the tobacco industry the laws they changed to help control any of those industries. He made it clear if we make it accessible to get the chances of someone to comment a crime to receive the drugs could go down. Because when you look at the war on drugs we as a country we are loosing. A 30 year war on drugs and the epidemic is out of control. Also the amount of income the country could gain instead if spending billions of dollars to fight that is a on going fight. If they where to legalize it a least we can educate, monitor and benefit from it. Our prison system wouldn’t be as crowed. I also feel that it would create jobs, and the level of crime could go down. Yes it would be ups and downs at first but you don’t know till you

The subject of drugs has certainly been an issue that has been widely discussed. Over the years, it has always boiled down to whether all drugs should be legalized or not. While the United States has been arguing over the topic of for many years, countries, such as Portugal, have taken an alternative and very unique way to fight the war on drugs. In 2001, the Portuguese government decided to flip its war on drugs strategy entirely: It decriminalized them all (Aleem). At first, this strategy was greatly criticized because people believed that decriminalizing drugs would not solve Portugal’s problem. They believed that the country would fall into the abyss of increased drug usage, criminals, and corruption. Actually, none of that has happened, and 15 years later, the country is doing much better than it has before, especially in terms of usage rate and health (Aleem). I believe the United States should decriminalize drugs just like how Portugal did because decriminalizing drugs can actually reduce drug use and its consequences, improve public safety and health, and can make a positive economic impact.

Drugs are a major influential force in our country today. The problem has gotten so out of hand that many people are even considering legalization of one of the most used drugs, marijuana. The legalization of marijuana is a controversial issue that has been fought for and against for several decades. Marijuana is defined as a preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant, which is usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria and to heal and soothe. (dictionalr.com)