A Case Against Legalizing Drugs

The prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s may have made it harder to get alcohol, but it did not stop everyone from drinking it. In the same way making drugs illegal has not stopped drug abuse, but it has limited it. Keeping drugs illegal as well as educating the population on the dangers of drugs can help to further limit drug abuse. If instead drugs are made legal, drugs will become easier to obtain and likely result in more drug abuse. Drug abuse does not only effect the user, but also those around them, in particular, when drug abuse leads to crimes. In addition to this, more steps need to be taken to limit the abuse of legal drugs, such as cold pills being used to produce methamphetamines. I will therefore argue against the proposition that because current policies aimed at limiting drug abuse do not work, we should legalize drugs and instead teach people to use them responsibly.

Drug abuse can lead to health problems for the user. The American Medical Association has found that drugs, especially heroin and cocaine, cause severe brain damage as well as serious damage to the heart and liver (Trevino & Robert, 2002, 93). The use of drugs is also closely linked to the spread of HIV infection. The spread of HIV is believed to occur from a lack of judgment while the drug user is under the influence of the drug or drugs.