Essay On Decriminalization Of Drugs

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The current drug situation within the United States has led individuals to question whether drugs should be legalized and to what extent. The War on Drugs in 1971 was the first push to fight against the booming drug epidemic, although many believe that it has gone too far. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 46.2% of inmates in prison as of last month were there because of a drug offense while major crimes such as assault and homicide were only a mere 3.3% (BOP 2018). This occurrence in our prison system has led to a push towards the legalization of drugs by some while others stand strongly to keep the current legislation. Many individuals believe that there should be minimal intervention in the citizen lives to allow individuals to make their own decisions …show more content…

I do not believe that all drugs should be legalized although the extent to which legal action is taken should be changed. All drugs should be decriminalized, which would significantly change the prison population statistics where we don’t have over 75,000 individuals in prison due to a drug offense. Although there should be some type of fine or other consequence for the possession and use of certain drugs and to determine which drugs are illegal should be based on the mindset it causes for a person. Drugs that affect behavior and cause a decrease in functionality of a person to the point where they are in a mindset to harm others and unable to function in society should deem the drug illegal while drugs such as marijuana should be illegal because there has been no evidence against it that is causing harm to others or even death for those who partake using. Therefore, as a whole I believe to an extent there should be legalization of drugs but those that can put other individuals in society at risk should remain

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