Drug Legalization Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, 2015
From Opposing Viewpoints in Context Drug abuse is a major problem throughout the world. The sale and use of narcotics and other illicit drugs is linked to addiction, prostitution, government corruption, and violent crime. In much of the world, including the United States, efforts to stop illicit drug use have focused on stricter laws and enforcement. Yet there is growing concern that this approach may be counterproductive. Legalizing drugs, say many analysts, is a better way to curb drug use and the myriad problems associated with it.
For Individual Freedom many supporters of legalization believe drug use is a personal choice that individuals should be free to make without government interference. Sending users and low-level dealers to jail, they argue, unfairly punishes people for what is essentially a lifestyle choice.
Opponents of this view, however, say that there is no such thing as a victimless crime. They argue that drug users not only hurt themselves, but hurt their families, …show more content…
Mandatory sentencing has resulted in a more than 400 percent increase in the number of women in prison, and has led to higher sentence for African Americans than for whites. In an interview on National Public Radio, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation President Eric Sterling said that mandatory sentencing has “overwhelmingly been targeted at people of color and at low-level offenders. “Mandatory sentencing, say those who support drug legalization, exhausts police resources when these could be more effectively used against high-level dealers and cartel leaders. Yet some argue that drug laws should not be weakened. The U.S. war on drugs, they say, has been effective in putting dealers behind bars and in reducing the scale of drug
From Opposing Viewpoints in Context Drug abuse is a major problem throughout the world. The sale and use of narcotics and other illicit drugs is linked to addiction, prostitution, government corruption, and violent crime. In much of the world, including the United States, efforts to stop illicit drug use have focused on stricter laws and enforcement. Yet there is growing concern that this approach may be counterproductive. Legalizing drugs, say many analysts, is a better way to curb drug use and the myriad problems associated with it.
For Individual Freedom many supporters of legalization believe drug use is a personal choice that individuals should be free to make without government interference. Sending users and low-level dealers to jail, they argue, unfairly punishes people for what is essentially a lifestyle choice.
Opponents of this view, however, say that there is no such thing as a victimless crime. They argue that drug users not only hurt themselves, but hurt their families, …show more content…
Mandatory sentencing has resulted in a more than 400 percent increase in the number of women in prison, and has led to higher sentence for African Americans than for whites. In an interview on National Public Radio, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation President Eric Sterling said that mandatory sentencing has “overwhelmingly been targeted at people of color and at low-level offenders. “Mandatory sentencing, say those who support drug legalization, exhausts police resources when these could be more effectively used against high-level dealers and cartel leaders. Yet some argue that drug laws should not be weakened. The U.S. war on drugs, they say, has been effective in putting dealers behind bars and in reducing the scale of drug