Legalization Of Marijuana

Legalization of Marijuana

During the 1920's our country introduced something its citizens never thought they would have to experience. That "something" was the prohibition of alcohol. The country made an attempt to legislate morality in a way never before attempted. When it was all said and done prohibition gave rise to hustlers like Al Capone that could not be controlled. With this occurring all over the country prohibition had to come to an end. The massive failure of prohibition was a true testament to the fact that the legislation of morality, against the people's will, is simply not possible.

The major effect of the Eighteenth Amendment was to dramatically reduce beer drinking (and therefore total alcohol consumption). At the same time, prohibition increased consumption of hard liquor (especially among the middle class). The fashionableness of the martini and other mixed drinks among the middle class is in part a historical legacy of prohibition, when "criminalization," made hard liquors the most available form of beverage alcohol.

As bad as it was this attempt to prohibit alcohol only occurred in a few places. Since the advent of modern society, the prohibition of uncontrolled illegal substances has been taking place. For as long as we can remember it has been illegal to buy, sell, or use any uncontrolled narcotics. What people fail to realize however, is that by virtue of their illegality, this has always been a profitable industry. It is because of this fact that, despite what others may believe, "soft" narcotics should be legal.

You may be wondering how anyone could make such a bold statement without fear of the consequences. The reason I am able to make such a comment is because I have the facts to back it up. Let me first begin by saying that I am not advocating the legality of all uncontrolled illegal substances. My stance on the issue is to legalize those considered to be "soft drugs." These include marijuana, mushrooms, and ecstasy.

The legalization of these drugs would prove to be much more beneficial to our society than harmful. Nearly all the reasons we hear in favor of keeping these drugs illegal discuss what may happen in the future. What the public fails to realize is that this is all pure speculation. There is no way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that these things would happen. For example, a big argument we hear all the time is that if drugs are easier to obtain, drug use will soar (Bennett, p. 614). We must ask ourselves. Is this really going to happen?

Now let us look at all the reasons why these forms of narcotics should be legalized. One big reason is the use of informants. The drug industry on the streets is not one that usually has documented evidence as to what acts are going on. Not only are there no records. But the relationship between a drug dealer and a drug user is not one that would be betrayed easily. It is because of this fact that informants are needed to take down these drug kingpins. What we fail to realize is that this, as with most things in life, is not free. The use of informants is a very costly venture. Another problem that goes hand in hand with the use of informant is the corruption that sprouts from it.

"Addicts and pushers are not the only ones corrupted. Immense sums are at stake. It is inevitable that some relatively low-paid police and other government officials Ð'- and some low paid ones as well Ð'- will succumb to the temptation to pick up easy money" (Friedman, 1998, p. 634).