Medical marijuana has been legal in Colorado and Washington, but last month both states voted to legalize the possession and sale of recreational marijuana- a decision that defies the national laws. Not only does the vote tread new ground in the United States, but it also reawakens debates about the government’s role in drug policy in general. Illegal drugs pose a complex issue due to the amount and magnitude of the societal problems they create.
On the scale of illegal drugs, marijuana is very low-risk but it is nonetheless classified as an illegal drug under the federal law. These classifications, however, seem fairly arbitrary- why is marijuana illegal, while cigarettes are sold on every block killing over 5 million people per year? Clearly the classification is not based on danger or risk factor. And certainly, since the United States spends $44 billion on enforcing drug prohibition, it is not an economically feasible decision. So are these bans truly an attempt to deter criminal behavior and the societal issues that many illegal drugs foster? Nearly half of all the crimes committed in the United States were related either directly or indirectly to the use of illegal drugs. There is no question that substance abuse is a factor in criminal activity; the issue is how to deal with it. Criminalizing drugs does not discourage users, yet the federal government has continued to enforce the ban. Although marijuana alone is infrequently implicated in criminal activity, the vote to legalize it in certain states opens the door for debate about drugs in general.
BBC asks whether banned drugs should go on sale legally, which would allow the government to tax drugs as well as regulate their sale and quality. Statistically, criminalizing drugs has NO EFFECT whatsoever on public drug use. It does, however, drastically increase crime rates. Instead of deterring people, bans force illegal drugs underground creating highly exploitative, dangerous markets. These markets are to blame for many of the societal problems that exist today in the United States, as well as issues in other countries, like Mexico. Legalizing all drugs would allow the government to deal with drug abuse as a public heath issue, rather than a criminal one. The way U.S. drug policy is constructed treats drug addicts like criminals, rather than people with psychological disorders. As a result, drug users and addicts are caught cycling in and out of prison while receiving limited psychological help, if any at all. After completing their jail time, prisoners are released back onto the streets free to use again- and most do, landing themselves right back in prison.
This is not a call for complete de-regulation of all drug use but rather an appeal for a different type of regulation. I’m not saying we should turn the United States into a free-for-all, anything-goes type of environment. However, the current approaches for dealing with drug use simply do not work and therefore we need to construct an alternative method. The global trend, outside of the United States, has been a loosening of drug prohibition. Very slowly, but surely though, the United States’ understanding of drug use is changing beginning with the legalization of marijuana in several states. It is hard to say how state legalization will play out in a country where federal laws bans marijuana, but hopefully this trend indicates a new mentality towards drug use in general.
To learn more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20294569