Drug Use Should Be Legal in America | Teen Ink

Drug Use Should Be Legal in America

December 10, 2007
By Anonymous

Next year, America will have undergone two changes that seem to run counter to each other. Absinthe will be legal, while the hallucinogen salvia is currently in the process of becoming illegal in the states. While absinthe has long been maligned as a hideous threat to life and society, salvia is known to be rather harmless unless smoked or chewed in very high doses. However, the potential for harm with any drugs does not conern me. What does is their legal status. I think that all drugs (including cigarettes, alcohol and even meth) should be made legal for anybody 18 years or older. Drug legalization will not cause the downfall of society, it could easily save some lives and it would cerainly put more money in government coffers, allowing more funding for things like road improvement, technology research and education.
First things first. Alcohol was once abhorred to the point of being banned in America, on the grounds that it would cause irreparable damage to the structure of society. As we all learn in school, Prohibition didn't last all that long. Since alcohol was re-legalized, it has clearly not destroyed the U.S. Alcohol use is generally not allowed at most workplaces, and such would be the case with any other drug. Also prominent is the fact that many drugs which are prohibited in America are not in the Netherlands. Dutch society is not some hellish, broken world and Holland is a thriving first world country. I am skeptical (to say the least) that letting people eat magic mushrooms will kill America.
This is probably a good time to address methamphetamine. My opinion is that if someone is stupid enough to cook up things like cough syrup, ammonia and lithium, then smoke the product, those people might not be the most valuable members of society anyway. They can go right ahead and mess up their lives.
Drug legalization would, on the other hand, be able to save many other lives. Just like with cigarettes and alcohol, the government could regulate production and prices of any drugs. Varying potencies and warnings could be established. If drug strength and content were regulated and drugs legalized, manufacturers who make drugs in unhealthy ways would become obsolete and drug use might easily become much safer.
Legal drugs would also allow the government to collect more taxes. More government funds can spell more money being spent on improvements in fields such as education, transportation and technology research.
Drug use should be legal in America. It would benefit the government and not harm the populace.


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This article has 72 comments.


on Dec. 1 2010 at 12:04 pm
woot go this kid al tho meth will mess u up trust me

malcolm1992 said...
on Nov. 19 2010 at 12:33 pm
i dont. i think drugs are straight stupid

Worrier GOLD said...
on Oct. 28 2010 at 1:20 pm
Worrier GOLD, Spring Valley, Wisconsin
17 articles 0 photos 4 comments
I agree that we should legalize drugs, because we have many different things today that could be classified as drugs yet they are not. Also, drugs are not all that different from alcohol and tobacco products.

keein said...
on Oct. 14 2010 at 3:20 pm
First of all i agree i do think that you need to rethink this. if we legalise drugs after age of 18 we will have a lot of mental people in this world most drugs that are illegal are illegal for a reason they are dangerous and can cause brain damage and all sorts of bad things too many to name. it takes controll of your body and your not the same i know because i have seen it my uncle went to jail for the use of alcohol and drugs, it was a bad sight and very upsetting the way he acted and looked because of the drugs took over his body and mind. so i do think that you have a good opinion and everyone needs a voice but maybe think of all the situations

on Oct. 6 2010 at 11:14 pm
justagirl. GOLD, Waco, Georgia
16 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Maybe it’s not always about love and boys. Maybe it’s about the little crushes and flirts in between. It's the moments that are before the permanent that are the most beautiful, like when the sun’s rising or when it’s setting. Maybe those are the moments that are suppose to take your breath away."

You need rethink this. Natural drugs, good. Other drugs and alchol, destroy lives and the lives of surrounding friends and family members.

HazelKush GOLD said...
on Aug. 23 2010 at 11:45 am
HazelKush GOLD, Odenton, Maryland
12 articles 10 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." - Yoda.

Love it. And agree %1000000000. Great writing!:D

 


on Jul. 4 2010 at 12:40 am
Heathurrlovesyouu SILVER, Morristown, Tennessee
5 articles 3 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Nothing of me is original, I am the combined effort of everyone I have ever known." -Invisible Monsters

I agree one million percent. Take this up with Obama, it may be exactly what he needs to become my favorite president!
:)

on Jun. 11 2010 at 1:22 pm
karaashley09 BRONZE, Grand Junction, Colorado
4 articles 0 photos 5 comments
Thank you for being honest about your opinions, John W.

on May. 27 2010 at 6:57 pm
Chinadoll BRONZE, Dallas, Texas
3 articles 0 photos 172 comments
I agree! Drugs should not be allowed, it ruins people.

on May. 5 2010 at 9:25 am
Swindlewick SILVER, ..., Washington
8 articles 2 photos 50 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." ~Voltaire

Agreed. Drugs destroy lives, whether you want to accept it or not. Opening the oppertunity to use drugs will encourage children to begin the slow suicide of drug use.

on Mar. 22 2010 at 4:36 pm
swimmingfreak319 SILVER, Lakeville, Minnesota
6 articles 0 photos 8 comments
you do make a good point by legalizing drugs you are saying it is ok to do them. They shorten your life they may make you feel happy and not stressed for 30 min but in the long run it is not a good example to set for kids. I am 13 and i know some kids my age will just love the idea that drugs are legalized.

on Mar. 22 2010 at 2:49 am
jamesp420 BRONZE, Louisville, Kentucky
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Be yourself and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. - Theodore Seuss Geisel

First off, there is nothing wrong with Salvia. Harmless with a fairly short, fun trip. There's no reason to make it illegal, except that government like to take things from the people that make them happy, like an overly strict parent taking away toys she deems "inappropriate" for her child. Legalizing all drugs will make a profound difference on society. This change will not seem to go well at first, but in the long run it will work for the best. Part of the appeal of drugs is their illegality. It's like coming across a big, red button labeled "don't push." Curiosity gets the best of you and what do you do? You push it. Legalizing drugs will make them seem less interesting, and some people will be less likely to do them. That being said, the people who are already hardcore used will continue along their path of destruction, and some of the less productive members of society soon will no longer be among the living. Put simply, it'll help weed out some of the weaker members of society. A higher percentage of the population will be working adults and teens, and this will help out the economy. Also, legalizing drugs will give the government way more money, since you know they will tax them all. More money for the gov. = more money for the people. I have so many more reasons why I think drugs should be legal, but I'm gonna leave it at that.

Also, I'm making speculations and generalizations, I'm not economic/political expert.

skeeter BRONZE said...
on Mar. 16 2010 at 10:08 am
skeeter BRONZE, Victoria, Minnesota
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
Keep on Keepin on life's a garden dig it.

learn to spell ya tard

sallyhall said...
on Mar. 8 2010 at 1:35 pm
i think they should be legalized because what ever they do ppl are stilll goin to do them, so whta ever they do, either, they wont or they will ppl are sstill goin to it!!!

on Mar. 7 2010 at 1:08 pm
Absinthe has "long been maligned as a hideous threat to life and society" due mostly to misinformation. The newfound legality of absinthe is not likely to be particularly detrimental to society. Besides which, there are no laws yet as to what you can market as absinthe, so a vast majority of what's being sold in America with an absinthe label isn't actually absinthe.

I do agree, though, that drug use should be legal. My reasoning is simply that I don't believe the government has any right to regulate which substances I put in my own body and which I don't.

on Feb. 19 2010 at 9:10 pm
Jordan901278 BRONZE, Long Pond, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Moloch! Burns down the love of the world." - Allen Ginsberg

i agree. but not too much on the hard drugs. people become violent of meth and sometimes cocaine. and it causes pretty big health concerns. but as far as alcohol, marijuana, LSD and salvia (as if it's a drug) of course it should be legal. none of those drugs have killed anybody or even come close to, except alcohol next to the like 500,00 people who died from cigarettes and LEGAL drugs like Aspirin

on Jan. 5 2010 at 4:50 pm
christian22 BRONZE, Lavinia, Tennessee
1 article 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
only god can judge me

if you agree with me email me. darkestdays33@yahoo .com

on Jan. 5 2010 at 4:44 pm
christian22 BRONZE, Lavinia, Tennessee
1 article 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
only god can judge me

if you would like to view the legalization of marijuana in my perspective you may agree with me. how many times do you hear of people crashing of getting in fights or any thing that can harm someone while drinking alchol? quite a few rite? well on the other hand how many people do you know of that harmed anybody in anyway while in use of marijuana? no where near the ammount if any. under the use of marijuana you still have the ability to make choices and think rationally as when you are under the influence of alchol you are not able to easily. i think marijuana should be legalized not only because of what i just explained, (the comparison of a already legal drug). but because there are many other reasons legalization can be useful. for one it would help this economie, if it went into production it would open up a lot of jobs, (take a lot of people off the street), it would stop a lot of crime. if there was something to fall back on a lot of these meth abusers, alcholics, cocaine addicts and all of these would stop and most likely smoke marijuana. and it would actually believe it or not it would stop a lot of logging. the leftover remains of the plant can be used to make paper. and since a plant can fully grow in one year you can harvest one acre of paper from the plant every year as it can take several years to produce the same ammount of paper using trees. also there is hemp rope. useing the remains to make rope or twine would be a cheaper and just as strong alternative to cotton and nylon ropes. the government could tax and sell as cigarettes do and make millions of dollars that are just going on the street everyday anyways. or the government could limit it like they do with moonshine. you can produce just enough for your self and not to sell or distribution. there are many ways to view marijuana as whether it should be legalized or not but i think the legalization would help this economie and country in many positive ways. if you agree with me or have any other positive views you would like to add comment on this article. get the word out. our voice is just as important as anybodys

on Jan. 1 2010 at 10:02 pm
beeftown BRONZE, Oxford, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Just because you’re an atheist, that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t love for things to have reasons for why they are.”-Jonathan Safran Foer

A well written and thought out article. I agree that some drugs should most certainly be legalized, but I wouldn't go as far as including methamphetamine, cocaine, or any other "hard" drugs. But really, if you are a responsible adult in a safe setting, you should be free to smoke a bowl with some friends without having to worry about going to jail for doing something that hurts no one.

Sunshineyday said...
on Dec. 2 2009 at 3:42 pm
Interestig article. idk about legalizing things as heavy as meth and cocaine, but you present an interesting point.