Solve Our Nation’s Problems By… Legalizing Drugs?

Off the bat, let me say that I have never done drugs before. I think they are social crutches with unenjoyable consequences. Drugs can ruin your life and leave you in more trouble than they’re worth. You become an outcast, people look at you differently, and you don’t get fullness out of life. The thing behind the great rise in drug use is… people are ignorant. In my opinion, if you want to get heroin, or crack, then you are going to get it; regardless of whether or not it is illegal.

Our nation can solve a couple problems at once through the legalization of controlled substances. First, and foremost, crime. Where do you think criminal organizations and cartels get the majority of their money? The answer, my friend, is drug trafficking. When we take the feet out from underneath big criminal organizations, they collapse. If the US controlled the trade of illegal drugs, and tax them, then we could stand to make money. This means better schools and better communities.

The second problem this will help solve is poverty. If the government controlled the trade of, say, marijuana, and it could be bought at a convenience store for the price of a pack of cigarettes, then theres $100 saved and in the pocket of the poor; and a couple more dollars going to our nation for use in the fight against poverty. The revenue collected from the trade of controlled substances would increase the national income by millions.

The key to preventing drug use isn’t making them illegal, but educating people about them. If a person knows that the drug they are doing will lower their life expectancy by 30 years, and they still choose to use them, then that’s their choice. And when drugs become less of a taboo subject, people are more inclined to seek help for their addictions. For example, if I had a smoking problem, I would be much more inclined to seek help about than if I had a cocaine addiction.

This is because people are naturally afraid of being different and don’t like to feel singled out, or embarrassed. Legalization may also lower usage rates of drugs because people don’t get excitement from doing an illegal activity.

I really don’t understand why drugs ever became illegal in the first place. The main reason is that a lot of health facts about certain substances all came out at once, the government panicked, and made those substances illegal as they cropped up. With advanced knowledge of those substances and the means to control them, I don’t understand why people don’t see how much the pros outweigh the cons. People, come on, get with the program.