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use them, from your roommate to your parents to Robert Downey, Jr., and it is absolutely unacceptable that America's outdated policy on drugs continues to stand unchallenged--the benefits of making every single drug legal far outweigh the possible detriments.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.