Monday, October 20, 2008
Brainstorming
I was having some trouble trying to think of an issue that is of importance to me that I have not yet written about in another class. I came up with the legalization/decriminalization of some illegal drugs. I would say only marijuana, but i wanted to include some other, less common drugs that I also think should not be illegal, for example LSD, psychedelic mushrooms, and ecstasy. The main reason for me thinking that these drugs should be legalized is because they do not have much potential for long term use. Although there are exceptions, these substances are not physically addictive and will not cause the user to be dependent on them, unlike some other illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin. I also feel like decriminalizing or legalizing these drugs would clear up badly needed space in prisons. I think that our law enforcement should be focusing on issues that might cause harm to communities, and not have to waste their time getting users of these drugs off the street. If the government would trust its citizens to use these substances responsibly, like they do with both alcohol and tobacco, then I think it would not be a problem. Also, I think that if the government was regulating these drugs, they would be safer and there would be less risk of using something that the user did not intend to use. For example, there are instances when a substance, such as marijuana is laced with another drug, like cocaine, which the user may or may not have been aware of.
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I agree with you for the most part. I had never considered LSD, ecstasy, or shrooms, but I have always believed that marijuana should be legal. My main argument for this is that our government spends billions on the "war on drugs" (much of which is against marijuana) when they could regulate it and make money instead of losing money. Marijuana is the number one cash crop in America, yet the government makes no money off of it. This makes no sense, especially considering the non addictive nature and relatively small effects of weed compared to other drugs. I can also see the positives of legalizing LSD and shrooms as neither is toxic due to overdose. Of course deaths have been linked to the two, but this is as a result of suicide, homicide, or accidental death while tripping, not because of the toxic nature of the drug. The nature of shrooms is such that your body becomes immune to the effects very quickly. Taking shrooms often will just minimize the effects in time. I can't agree with you on the legalization of ecstasy however because although it might not be addictive in nature, there is a serious risk of overdose leading to death or serious long-lasting health problems.
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