A drug is classified as “a substance other than food, when taken into the body, affects the structure and/or functioning of the body” according to chapter 7 of the textbook.
Many people feel that drug use would go up if we allowed all to partake of it legally. They also think that with increased drug use we would also have more crime on the streets, particularly by those needing money to buy more drugs. With more people on drugs, more kids would be neglected and would need more help from the government and its services. There would be unemployment as people would not be able to keep their jobs while using drugs. The list goes on and on as to why drug use is bad and why we as a society would fail if we let it run rampant on our streets. I believe this to be a very one sided view and probably leaning towards a “worst case scenario” opinion. Here is my take on the matter.
I really enjoyed the YouTube video from the list that talked about what the world would be like if we decriminalized drugs. “Decriminalization is a different thing from legalization. Decriminalization means that something is still banned, and it is still illegal, but it is no longer a criminal offense.” (The world if drugs became legal, 0:42) They also talk about making certain drugs legal, like marijuana, and then having law abiding citizens grow it and pay taxes on it. This would stimulate the economy and also lessen the crime that occurs to procure the drug. The money spent on obtaining legal marijuana would go back into our society instead of the hands of the large drug cartels. They talk about Colorado as this video is a little older and before we adopted some of the same ideas in Utah. Europe is ahead of the United States when it comes to this particular topic though and did see an initial increase of drug use, since it was a new commodity available to all, but now they are seeing a decline again. This topic was so interesting to me that I watched another YouTube video that was not on the list about Portugal. This country is one of a few (there are 19 others) that has decriminalized all drugs and did so in the early 2000s. Many other countries have studied Portugal since then and have implemented similar policies. One of the main focuses in Portugal and other countries is rehabilitation and help instead of jail time.
While we have systems in place in America such as Alcoholics Anonymous and detox units, we are not supplying enough rehabilitation/help and instead lock people up for using drugs. In America, if you are found in possession of drugs for personal use you can face jail time. First offense is usually a $1000 fine and up to one year in jail. The charges get higher and fines steeper with multiple offenses. Educating people about personal drug use and then providing help for them if needed, is a lot more helpful than throwing people in prison and having them lose their job, home, family, and coming out having to start life all over, but with a record. (There were also a few good videos for this week about people coming out of jail and having a super hard time adjusting to life again and the need for different jail “paths” so that not everyone is treated the same and thrown into the same jails.)
I think decriminalizing drugs for personal use will help our economy and the overcrowded prison systems. I do agree there need to be punishments for those selling the drugs, but individuals wanting to partake themselves should be left to do so without the worries of getting drugs that are not safe or facing jail time and major fines. Criminalizing all drug use while letting anyone buy cigarettes and alcohol is showing us that our country is in need of restructuring when it comes to substances and the use of them.
Sources:
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/part/chapter-7-alcohol-and-other-drugs/
The world if drugs became legal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5T-LYTPRVs
Is decriminalizing all drugs a good idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYVctc-87b8
https://drugabuse.com/addiction/drug-abuse/penalties/
Many people feel that drug use would go up if we allowed all to partake of it legally. They also think that with increased drug use we would also have more crime on the streets, particularly by those needing money to buy more drugs. With more people on drugs, more kids would be neglected and would need more help from the government and its services. There would be unemployment as people would not be able to keep their jobs while using drugs. The list goes on and on as to why drug use is bad and why we as a society would fail if we let it run rampant on our streets. I believe this to be a very one sided view and probably leaning towards a “worst case scenario” opinion. Here is my take on the matter.
I really enjoyed the YouTube video from the list that talked about what the world would be like if we decriminalized drugs. “Decriminalization is a different thing from legalization. Decriminalization means that something is still banned, and it is still illegal, but it is no longer a criminal offense.” (The world if drugs became legal, 0:42) They also talk about making certain drugs legal, like marijuana, and then having law abiding citizens grow it and pay taxes on it. This would stimulate the economy and also lessen the crime that occurs to procure the drug. The money spent on obtaining legal marijuana would go back into our society instead of the hands of the large drug cartels. They talk about Colorado as this video is a little older and before we adopted some of the same ideas in Utah. Europe is ahead of the United States when it comes to this particular topic though and did see an initial increase of drug use, since it was a new commodity available to all, but now they are seeing a decline again. This topic was so interesting to me that I watched another YouTube video that was not on the list about Portugal. This country is one of a few (there are 19 others) that has decriminalized all drugs and did so in the early 2000s. Many other countries have studied Portugal since then and have implemented similar policies. One of the main focuses in Portugal and other countries is rehabilitation and help instead of jail time.
While we have systems in place in America such as Alcoholics Anonymous and detox units, we are not supplying enough rehabilitation/help and instead lock people up for using drugs. In America, if you are found in possession of drugs for personal use you can face jail time. First offense is usually a $1000 fine and up to one year in jail. The charges get higher and fines steeper with multiple offenses. Educating people about personal drug use and then providing help for them if needed, is a lot more helpful than throwing people in prison and having them lose their job, home, family, and coming out having to start life all over, but with a record. (There were also a few good videos for this week about people coming out of jail and having a super hard time adjusting to life again and the need for different jail “paths” so that not everyone is treated the same and thrown into the same jails.)
I think decriminalizing drugs for personal use will help our economy and the overcrowded prison systems. I do agree there need to be punishments for those selling the drugs, but individuals wanting to partake themselves should be left to do so without the worries of getting drugs that are not safe or facing jail time and major fines. Criminalizing all drug use while letting anyone buy cigarettes and alcohol is showing us that our country is in need of restructuring when it comes to substances and the use of them.
Sources:
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/part/chapter-7-alcohol-and-other-drugs/
The world if drugs became legal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5T-LYTPRVs
Is decriminalizing all drugs a good idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYVctc-87b8
https://drugabuse.com/addiction/drug-abuse/penalties/
[Paper written for SOC 1020 class UVU Spring 2023]
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
