Why We Shouldn’t Legalize Drugs
There is a lot of controversy over whether drugs should be legalized or not. Current federal laws prohibit the use, possession, and trafficking of numerous drugs, including marijuana. However, recently some states have passed laws or are considering passing laws that would legalize marijuana for medical use.
While illegal drugs may yield some medical benefits for certain patients, there are a lot of other factors to consider. Most illegal drugs are illegal due to their severe side effects to the body. Generally they are documented to cause brain damage, heart problems, and other physical and mental diseases. Many of these drugs are also known to cause addictions, as well. Doctors would have to determine if using the drug would be more beneficial than other known side effects.
Another factor to consider is that currently prescription drugs have become a rampant source of substance abuse. As the New York Times recently exposed, more people in the state of Florida die from prescription drug abuse than illegal drug abuse. From this we can see that in our current system, legalization of a drug does not take away its dangers or make it more controlled. Increased access to the drugs makes it easier for people to abuse them. Until the problems with prescription drug abuse are resolved, adding the current illegal drugs to the mix would be like putting more fuel on a raging fire.
It is important for these issues to be resolved before we can even consider the legal applications of currently illegal drugs to persons with serious medical conditions. With all of the serious illnesses in the world today, we should continue pushing for new alternatives in medicine. Discovering safer, more effective medications would help remove the need for drugs with dangerous, life-threatening side effects.
August 5th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I complete agree to the statement that “adding the current illegal drugs to the mix would be like putting fuel on a raging fire.” If illegal drugs such as marijuana were to be legalized through prescription then the current epidemic that the US is facing on the abuse of presciption drugs would only be intensified.
As an addict I know from expierence that one of the easiest ways to get drugs is by breaking into the medicine cabinet. I could find anything I wanted opiates, muscle relaxents, sleeping aids, etc. etc. Adding marijuana to this mix would only make peoples problem worse or for the addict it would easier to get their hands on substances.
Even though many people especially addits/users don’t consider marijuana a problomatic drug, it is the “gateway drug,” atleast it was for me. All of my drug use started with getting high that first time. If marijuana was to be more easily accessible to teens than it will only make their problems worse.
Technology continues to improve especially in the feild of medicine, I dont see any reason why there would not be any new developments in medicine. New drugs are continually invented, old drugs that are addictting and cause problems hopefully one day will be obsolete.