Legalize Drugs
Mar 13th 2007CarlIndividual Freedom & Political
Once upon a time there was a prohibition time about alcohol. Well, it failed. But nowadays there is still a prohibition on drugs. Prohibiting the use of drugs when the use doesn’t harm others is an unacceptable limitation of the individual freedom (because no one else is harmed).
I believe that as long as using drugs doesn’t harm others it should be legal. Everyone should be free to do whatever they want to as long as it doesn’t harm others. However if someone harms another as a result of using drugs, she or he should be sentenced to treatment and be forbidden to use drugs in the future. The same thing would be the case for the drugs that are already legal: tobacco and alcohol.
Instead of criminalizing drugs the state should rather regulate them. By regulating I mean taxing them, informing about the potential harms and offering help to drug users. The state could also have a monopol on the drug market and it would manufacture and sell drugs itself. This way we could ensure that the quality of drugs is controlled and thus avoid deaths and major health problems that are due to unclean drugs. Furthermore by having a state monopol on drugs the number of selling places could be regulated (thus limiting consumption).
Those opposing the legalization of drugs often argues that drug consumption almost always leads to other crimes. This is not the case just as it is not true that drinking alcohol always leads to crimes. Furthermore if the drugs were legal and sold in state owned stores consumers would no longer need to be in contact with dealers belonging criminal gangs. An exception to legalizing drugs could be made for those hard drugs that have a very high likehood of leading to harms on others.
It is probably true that legalizing drugs would lead to some increase in their use, but at the same time legalizing them offers better possibilities to control their damages.
Shortly: forbidding the use of drugs when it doesn’t harm others is a violation of the individual freedom and of individual rights.
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Anonymous on 10 Jan 2008 at 16:16 #
u suck
Anonymous on 19 Mar 2008 at 16:54 #
you’re retarded
anonymous on 25 Mar 2009 at 19:17 #
There are two scenarios that would take place by legalizing drugs. First, possibly there would be less burglaries, harm to others, and even murders taking place. Second, everyone would be on drugs. It doesn’t matter whether it’s just weed because I know, personally, that people aren’t just going to be smoking weed. Case example: My father started off on weed which led to crack and LSD, destruction of property, stealing , and lying in a bloodbath in my bathtub when I was 8. This led to my parents’ divorce and the aftermath led me to be practically mute and totally screwed up. Not only do these drugs affect your brain in the worst way, they ruin lives and are basically unhealthy. Not asking for sympathy at all. I’m not concerned about society at large, or individual freedom which is neccessary, I agree. Only about the repercussions of bodily damage, brain damage and the health of our country - that’s it. That’s all. Peace.