The Legalization of Drugs

The word "drug" is not one tossed lightly into conversation in normal society. From birth, children are trained how bad some drugs are, and how acceptable others may be. When a friend or family member uses the word "drug" at the dinner table, even grandma stops eating and stares with awe, wondering what will happen next. But what is it that makes drugs so bad? What are these mystical illegal substances, and what gives the government the right to make them illegal in the first place? First of all, a government should not have the right to tell its people what they can and cannot consume. In a free country, people should be free to not only speak freely, but also be able to input freely, without fear of legal consequences. Marijuana Legal.org (2002) states "Individuals deserve the right to decide whether or not they should use marijuana. The government should not tell individuals what to do as long as they do not harm others. Society needs to better understand what drugs really are; many of our current drug laws are rooted in racism and hate, not in justice. Until our society better understands these substances, the government should have no right to keep them illegal.

One thing the typical person needs to understand in the world of drugs is why drugs are really illegal. Most people don't understand that most drug laws in the United States are based on old racial prejudices. Marijuana, for example, was made illegal so the many Hispanics living near the Texas border could be singled out (Guither, 2007, p. 8-12). In the early 1900s, marijuana was made illegal because, as a senator said on the floor of the Senate: "All Mexicans are crazy, and this stuff [marijuana] is what makes them crazy." (Guither, 2007). Other drugs were quick to follow suit with marijuana laws. Now marijuana is listed by Erowid.org (2007) as a Schedule 1 Hallucinogen.