Is there a more efficient and ethical way to reduce drug abuse in the US than by conducting a war on drugs?

Yes

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by Joseph Whalen

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There are always alternatives to war. Whether you are referring to an actual declared war between sovereign states or the pretend "war on drugs" that we use as a catch phrase for America's efforts to curb illegal drug use. It is a pretend war because there is no entity in which to declare a war against, nor are there front lines or opposing forces. It is a business, a business which the United States does not have a stake in and finds offensive.

As contrary as this may sound, the most efficient and ethical way to reduce drug abuse in the United States is to legalize and regulate it. Some people may find this to be a shocking position to take in this country, but it makes perfect sense. We have legalized and regulated the sale of tobacco and alcohol, two substances which are equally addictive as illegal drugs and just as damaging to one's body. However, since so much money is tied up in the two substances they are considered valuable industries of trade within our country.

It is a hypocritical society that allows its people to indulge in a substance which countless studies and government agencies have declared as a danger to our health, yet other substances which have true medicinal value are illegal. It is further hypocritical that we legalize tobacco for purchase by those over eighteen, and yet we do not outlaw its use by those under the age of eighteen. However, a person suffering from multiple sclerosis or some other painfully debilitating affliction who cannot find any comfort or relief from the overpriced pharmaceutical industry can not resort to using marijuana to ease their suffering because it is an illegal substance.

Legalizati on of drugs would eliminate the need for the war on drugs. The billions of dollars spent each year fighting a war which we are clearly loosing against an unseen enemy could be spent for more worthwhile enterprises such as drug rehabilitation. When an individual can go to their local state run or state regulated retail outlet to purchase drugs at a much reduced cost over the street price without fear of legal repercussions the violent and dangerous street trade of illegal drugs will dry up. Crime rates will drop as the gangs and other organized crime groups are put out of the business of drug trafficking by the government.

Regulatin g illegal drugs and taxing them will provide a massive influx of money into the economy. Money that could be spent on drug education, needle exchange programs and rehabilitation services. Society could capitalize on this legalization to institute safer, more refined and less potent and less lethally addictive versions of popular drugs. This could lead a reduction in AIDS infections as a result of reusing "dirty" needles, a decrease in instances of drug overdoses and the ability to recover faster from addictions with proper treatment.

While legalizing drug use in the United States may not be the end all solution to a problem that has plagued man for centuries, it is a possible solution to many of the tertiary problems that surround the trade of illicit drugs in our society today. Without a fundamental shift in society's philosophies and beliefs there is little we will be able to do to stop people from using illicit substances. The prohibition years of the early twentieth century have shown that even when a substance is outlawed for what appeared to be the greater good of society, we as human beings are gluttonous and will vigorously pursue the vices which we perceive as giving us the pleasures we feel we are entitled to. Instead of fighting this instinctive nature in man and loosing, embrace it as a weakness we have and nurture it. Society would be better served if the government was overseeing the production and sale of such substances rather than the profiteering self serving drug lords that now hold the fate of our citizens in their hand.

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