The use of drugs affects almost every part of society. This includes our schools, our neighborhoods, the places we let our children play, and even who influences our children. Drug use, whether legal or illegal, can be a strain on the economy. Once an addiction phase has been reached healthcare and criminal justice systems are also impacted. This not only causes possible endangerment to the futures of young people but to the country itself. There are many politicians that argue legalizing drugs is one realistic way to overcome the ongoing drug war in America. While this topic does have debatable opinions from both sides of the issue, one has to agree that the processes involved in drug enforcement do cause a strain on the economy. Some researchers believe that the outcome of legalizing drugs would make the problem we have now much larger and eventually completely out of control. I have researched the most common drugs and their most common side effects. This will show the potential dangers to our community if we make these readily available to people.
Opioids are often used as a pain medication and to assist people in getting off other addictive drugs. The abuse of prescription drugs is America’s most rapidly spreading drug problem. This epidemic has recently been classified as critical by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to Jayawant and Rajesh OxyContin is one of them most common form of opioids. This is a synthetic opioid that has become very public. Although this drug does provide substantial pain relief, it has created extensive media attention because of the amount of people who abuse this drug and eventually become addicted to it (Jayawant and Rajesh). According to this same article there are asto...
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...ystem article posted in 2009 there were overall 3,952 drivers fatally injured that tested positive for drugs (Office of National Drug Control Policy). With numbers like these involving drugs that are already legal, how can we expect to prevent misuse for drugs that are not legal. If anything, we should be stricter with the regulations surrounding legal drugs.
Works Cited
Guzmán, M. "Result Cannabinoids: Potential Anticancer Agents." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 3 Oct. 2003. Web. 06 May 2014.
Jayawant, Sujata S., and Rajesh Balkrishnan. "The Controversy Surrounding OxyContin Abuse: Issues and Solutions." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 24 Nov. 0005. Web. 06 May 2014
"Office of National Drug Control Policy." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
Legalizing the use of soft drugs would help bolster the U.S. economy, partially because the government would have the ability to tax these drugs. This includes marijuana used for medicinal purposes, which, according to a 1995 article in The Journal of the American Medical Association, can “counteract the toxicity of chemotherapy, treat migraines, minimize pain, and treat moderate wasting syndrome in AIDS patients.” The economy would also benefit from the legalization of drugs because fewer drug offenders would crowd the prisons, and the government could spend the money they saved from this reduction in prison populations on other public expenses. With drug busts running at 750,000 cases a year nationwide, (mostly for marijuana,) prisons are bulging, and those imprisoned for drug-related crime account for only a fraction of America’s drug users. In Elliot Currie’s essay, “Toward a Policy on Drugs,”...
Almost one hundred years ago, prescription drugs like morphine were available at almost any general store. Women carried bottles of very addictive potent opiate based pain killers in their purse. Many individuals like Edgar Allen Poe died from such addictions. Since that time through various federal, state and local laws, drugs like morphine are now prescription drugs; however, this has not stopped the addiction to opiate based pain killers. Today’s society combats an ever increasing number of very deadly addictive drugs from designer drugs to narcotics to the less potent but equally destructive alcohol and marijuana. With all of these new and old drugs going in and out of vogue with addicts, it appears that the increase of misuse and abuse is founded greater in the prescription opiate based painkillers.
Opioid’s chemical composition consist of many highly addictive substances which cause the human body to become quickly tolerant. Many opioid users become addictive to the substance because the doctors have been over prescribing. “In the United States, there were 14,800 annual prescribed opioid (PO) deaths in 2008” with the US having less restrictions (Fischer, Benedikt, et al 178). The United States have implemented more regulations so that “high levels of PO-related harms been associated with highly potent oxycodone formulas” will decrease (Fischer, Benedikt, et al 178). With the regulations, it does not change the fact that opioids are is destructive. The regulations assistance by lessening the probability of patients becoming addictive to opioid. There are numerous generations that are effected and harmed by the detrimental effects of opioids on opioid-dependent patients.
the only way to make money. Minimum wage salaries can not compare to the huge
Kaufman, Stephen. "Obama Drug Strategy: Prevention to Reduce Demand." America - Engaging the World - America.gov. 12 May 2010. Web. 02 Mar. 2011. .
Many feel today we are loosing the war on drugs. People consider legalization unnecessary. They feel that it will increase the amount of drug use throughout the world. They state that in many cases, drug users who have quit quit because of trouble with the law. Legalization would eliminate the legal forces that discourage the users from using or selling drugs. They also say that by making drugs legal, the people who have never tried drugs for fear of getting caught by the law will have no reason to be afraid anymore and will become users (Potter 1998).
The war on drugs in our culture is a continuous action that is swiftly lessening our society. This has been going on for roughly 10-15 years and has yet to slow down in any way. Drugs continue to be a problem for the obvious reason that certain people abuse them in a way that can lead to ultimate harm on such a person. These drugs do not just consist of street drugs (marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy), but prescription medications as well. Although there are some instances where drugs are being used by subjects excessively, there has been medical research to prove that some of these drugs have made a successful impact on certain disorders and diseases.
Office of National Drug Control Policy. (n.d.).AllGov: Everything Our Government Really Does. Retrieved March 18, 2012, from http://www.allgov.com/Agency/Office_of_National_Drug_Control_Policy
Drug use has been an ongoing problem in our country for decades. The use of drugs has been the topic of many political controversies throughout many years. There has been arguments that are for legalizing drugs and the benefits associated with legalization. Also, there are some who are opposed to legalizing drugs and fear that it will create more problems than solve them. Conservatives and liberals often have different opinions for controversial topics such as “the war on drugs,” but it is necessary to analyze both sides in order to gain a full understanding of their beliefs and to decide in a change in policy is in order.
"National Drug Threat Assessment Summary." Welcome to the United States Department of Justice. U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .
Drugs are never right! According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, about 570,000 people die annually due to drug addiction. That breaks down to about 440,000 from disease related to tobacco, 85,000 due to alcohol, 20,000 due to illegal drugs, and 20,000 due to prescription drug use. Drug abuse is most common among young adults who are 18-25 years old. Abusing drugs is not only affecting peoples life, it also has a huge impact on United States economy. According to NIDA estimated economic cost due to substance abuse and addiction is about $559 billion/year, that breaks down to $181 billion from illegal drugs, $185 billion from alcohol and $193 billion from tobacco. These costs are due to health care, crime and lost productivity. If we don’t solve this problem the death rate is going to be increase and the economy will go down gradually.
President’s Drug Policy (2004). National Drug Control Strategy. Retrieved on April 13, 2005 from www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
Many experts fear that social cost increase dramatically. That means that because of the higher consumption rate, the number of health issues caused by marijuana consumption will increase. Furthermore, “there is plenty of evidence that drug-using employees are less productive and less healthy” (Walters, John P. “No surrender: the drug war saves lives”). What goes along with this is that a higher consumption rate also affects school. Experts fear that it has “a negative effect on high school graduation rates, college enrollment, and youth employment” (“Legalisation of Marijuana” Student Resource Center).
Addiction levels rose, especially among teenagers, and more people became addicts. This sets an example to how it will hurt the nation as one, not only will the nation look bad, but go bad as well. Crime, violence, and drug use go hand-in-hand. Many believe that legalizing drugs w... ... middle of paper ... ...
Leading to an increase in drug experimentation by the youth and an increase in crack houses, where most laced drugs are produced. There is a reason why these drugs are illegal and it 's because of their harmful effects and the damage they cause the human body. Drug users, are often recognized as people who commit crimes, murder, rape, and other violence including burglary. With drug laws, it creates a fear in people of getting in trouble with the law and is a major reason to not use drugs. The legalization of drugs would not lower crimes rates as there would be more and more addicts as well as large black markets for drugs. Although these drug users commit crimes to obtain these drugs, it is obvious to see they would still be committing these crimes to obtain the drug even if it is legalized. Either way, a crime is still being committed they just have an easier way to steal the drug from someone. Which means the crime rates would start to rise, leading to the population of prisoners increasing, which also leads to the government spending more money on organizing jail facilities to hold these prisoners. One state in particular where marijuana is now legal, has started to come to the realization that maybe it wasn’t a good idea to leaglize this drug. Kevin A. Sabet, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Florida and President of SAM points out that,