Pertinent Issues about Drugs
Q1. Pertinent Issues about Drugs
It goes unopposed that drugs have done more harm than good to individuals and states stagnating both personal and economic growth. Ideally, drugs have been the most contestable topic among various channels and groups creating parity in thoughts and beliefs with some individuals supporting the ban of drugs whereas others oppose this take. This paper addresses pertinent issues about drugs such as; prohibition and sovereignty of drugs, discrimination vs. legislation, personal rights, drug policy, trends and subtle changes in drug policy, reasons for the prohibition, and reasons why international drug policy has not been reformed among other aspects.
Prohibition and Sovereignty of Drug
Moral advocates and lobby groups have been on the forefront in the fight against drugs at international and national stage. These groups rely on the convergence of morals, cultural, political, and material concerns to address drug abuse and substance use. The United States law deems it fit for the prohibition and has directly influenced changes in foreign nations, international organizations, and international law (Windle, 2013). On the other side, it has been contested that drugs should not be banned since these efforts in most cases fail indicating weakness in policies. This school of thought argue that it would be of use if the money used to fight drug is used to construct more rehabilitation centers. Moreover, these individuals believe that prohibition creates a strong supply vacuum which can not be done away with thus increasing criminal incidents. For instance, criminalizing users denies individuals opportunities of education, employment, and family association thus increasing crime rates. Arguably, it has been contested that some drugs are less harmful hence no need of banning them, for example, tobacco and alcohol. Further, this category believes that people should be at will in making choices of what they want with their bodies.
Discrimination vs. Legislation
Discrimination against drug addicts is a common practice among many people in a number of states. In the process, individuals suffer from stigmatization since they are stereotyped to be violent and associated with risk behaviors. This has in turn resulted to secretive use of drugs exposing one to health related problems. This form of discrimination is however a criminal act violating human rights and is punishable by the law. Extreme cases of violation of human rights have been witnessed at workplaces leading to development of laws to safeguard the interests of the victims (Brick & Erickson, 2013). For example the labor, Human Relations Act, and international laws among others have been set to prevent abuse drug users at all levels in their various destinations. Similarly, laws have been kept in place to ensure workers do not work under the influence of drugs.
Personal Rights Issues on Drugs
Breaching of personal rights has been widely contested among the groups opposing the ban of drugs. It is culturally believed that human beings are at liberty of choosing what to do with their bodies and no one should dictate on their life choices. This group of people believes that the war against drugs has done more harm than good. Individuals here are of the opinion that interventions should be taken into account on promoting safety rather than upholding the sovereignty of individuals against their own wish and bodies. These individuals instead advocate for reduced criminalization, responsible marijuana regulation, promoting health and reducing harm caused intake drugs, and empowerment of youths, parents, and educators. These are discussed below.
Reduced Criminalization
Statistics show that approximately half a million people have been jailed for violating drug laws. Ideally, this increases the wage bill due to costs of incarceration. Contestably, it is believed that such individuals should not be punished since they are liberty of doing whatever they want with their bodies. Taking a strong stand, these people have committed no crime. Instead these individuals should be left alone to struggle with drug misuse rather than punishing them. A Plagiarized Student Sample: ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Marijuana Regulation
Marijuana use accounts to more than 20million arrests since 1960’s. This has deprived people their jobs, education, and freedom. The anti-marijuana law is deemed unnecessary and it has been argued that such a law needs to be reformed. To date, the only marijuana policy lays efforts on making it legally available for medical purposes. More interventions should therefore be constructed to reduce criminal penalties, and arrest for possession of this drug.
Promoting Health and Reducing Harm
This policy advocates for reducing harmful effects of drug use and prohibition such as number of deaths, criminal activities, and suffering among other effects. Interventions have been put across by Drug Protection Act to address issues on overdose, supervision of injection facilities, counseling, and treatment.
Empowerment of Youths, Parents, and Educators
The Drug Policy Act promotes drugs education using interventions such as fear-based messages, zero tolerance policies such as truthful information on impacts of drug abuse…Show More….