Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Drugs

Former Maryland policeman Neill Franklin stated in an interview that “the more problematic a drug can be, the more need we have for regulating it”. In the interview with Newsweek, Franklin brought up the point that if hard drugs are legalized, they can then be kept track of and people can be properly educated on their effects. Due to this, many, if not all of the current illegal drugs, should be legalized because it will help the country’s economy and its health. Legalizing drugs will save money and create a profit for the government. The Cato Institute has conducted a study and “estimated that legalizing drugs would save the government approximately $41.3 billion annually on expenditures related to the enforcement of prohibition”(International Business Times). The government will save by having fewer people incarcerated because of possession of small amounts of drugs. About 95 percent of every dollar the federal and state governments spend goes to the consequences of drug use (The Washington Post). However, not having to imprison so many people for drug

Neill Franklin came up with some ideas for regulation, such as privately owned retail outlets for marijuana, a pharmaceutical model for cocaine, or a supervised injection facility for heroin. With different ways of monitoring the sale of narcotics, individuals with different needs can administer their correct dosages with less likelihood of overdosing. Many heroin users use contaminated needles when they inject due to not having access to clean needles (The Week). These needles can be contaminated with diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV. If one does not die from an overdose of heroin, they could die of a disease they did not know they had. However, if drugs were legalized clean needles would be easier to come by and these severe health risks can be avoided. CONCLUSION