Pubdate: Fri, 01 Feb 2002
Source: Columbia Daily Spectator (NY Edu)
Copyright: 2002 Spectator Publishing Company
Contact:  http://www.columbiaspectator.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2125
Author: Paul Reyfman
Note: The author is a Columbia College first-year.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

LEGALIZE EVERYTHING

I remember when I learned that it is illegal for a person to commit 
suicide. To me this was as ridiculous as somebody saying that Disney's Tale 
Spin wasn't the coolest show on television. This was so shocking to hear 
for the first time because even my seven-year-old mind realized that 
suicide is essentially a victimless crime. Also, there is comfort in 
knowing that you have the freedom to end your life if it becomes too 
overwhelming, even when you have no actual desire to commit suicide.

All propaganda aside, the question of the legality of drugs is not much 
different: at its core, the use (or even abuse) of any drug is a victimless 
crime. Many Americans use them, from your roommate to your parents to 
Robert Downey, Jr., and it is absolutely unacceptable that America's 
outdated policy on drugs continues to stand unchallenged--the benefits of 
making every single drug legal far outweigh the possible detriments.

The most obvious benefit of the legalization of drugs would be government 
regulation. In this case, even decriminalization would not suffice. If all 
drugs were legal, they could be manufactured and marketed in such a way 
that their users would not be at risk of consuming a narcotic that might or 
might not be what they think, and hope, it is. Many health risks involved 
with drug abuse are related to laced narcotics or to the inability of users 
to regulate the quantity of the drug they consume. Still, the benefits of 
all drugs being legal go far beyond quality control.

With legalization, hundreds of studies that are illegal now could be 
performed to discover what health concerns exist related to the abuse of 
various drugs. As a result, everyone would be more informed and less 
speculative.

During the period of alcohol prohibition, America learned a lesson, and it 
is strange that this lesson hasn't been applied to every other illegal 
narcotic: when a substance is illegal, crime related to the production and 
distribution of that substance is inevitable. There are many people in 
prison right now for violent crimes that could not have occurred if drugs 
were legal. The government is also forced to imprison those drug offenders 
who merely violated a "zero-tolerance" possession law.

So much money is spent on keeping these people in jail and even more 
potential revenue is sacrificed because an illegal substance cannot be 
taxed. If drugs were legal, all of these funds could be used more 
productively, such as for drug addiction treatment programs. It is 
ridiculous that so much money and effort is wasted when it could be applied 
in much more effective ways.

All practical reasons aside, drugs should not be illegal because it is not 
the government's place to make them illegal. The consumption of drugs, like 
alcohol, usually hurts nobody except for the user-only when this is not the 
case, should any sort of legal intervention be acceptable. As John Stuart 
Mill said, "the trends in America towards laws that work for the general 
benefit of society are misguided and the consumption of alcohol and any 
drug should not be limited because true freedom includes the right to use 
drugs as much as the right to free speech."

Currently, America is seeing growing support for the legalization of 
marijuana. Many opponents of this say that if marijuana were legalized, it 
would just be the beginning of a slippery slope towards the legalization of 
all drugs. This is very probable, but what neither side realizes is that at 
its core, there is no drug that should be any more illegal than marijuana 
or alcohol or even nicotine or caffeine. Every single one of these can be 
addictive and every single one can be harmful to their user if abused. The 
only difference is that alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine are all legal and 
as a result, much more is known about them and much more can be done to 
help someone who is addicted to any of them.

For all of its freedoms and civil liberties, America is an extremely 
Puritan nation--full frontal nudity is allowed on public television in 
every civilized country except ours. So much of the information that 
Americans have on drugs is propaganda that they learn from television 
commercials or grade-school programs like Drug Abuse Resistance Education 
(DARE).

Let's face it: the only thing most kids get out of DARE is learning how to 
roll a joint, and even people who choose to pass on drugs don't use DARE's 
lame suggestions about how to do so.

The first step to finally ending the war on drugs is to inform every 
American about drugs, and the last step is total legalization.