The BėM Squad presents "Should Drugs be Legal?" by Mr. Sandman 10/14/93 žDisclaimerž There is no need for a disclaimer in this article being that it deals purely with opinion. If you don't like it then don't read it! My views are not necessarily the views of the BėM Squad. ž Should Drugs be Legal? ž This question has been asked many times throughout the years and it seems that even though our country continues to fight this so called "war" on drugs their use has not really declined. It is necessary to look at both sides of this issue before one can make a final conclusion. Let us look at why they are illegal and why it is wrong or hypocritical that they are illegal. Many people feel that drugs hurt people and their families and a sad thing is that drugs can do this. However, is that a reasonable cause to make them illegal? No. It is possible for any substance to do this but that is the fault of the person who uses it. Also, the government does not seem to care about this anyways. For example, alcohol has been known to destroy more people and families than most other substances. Yet is it illegal? Hell no! The argument here is that the use of alcohol can be controlled. It is also possible for people to control their drug use. Also, it is hypocritical for the government to keep alcohol legal when it does the same damage as drugs. You will also notice that cigarettes are also legal and they can give cancer to those who smoke them and those who are around people who smoke them. Yet for some reason they are legal. Are you seeing any flaws in the claim that the government keeps drugs illegal because they hurt people? I hope so because they are numerous. What most people seem to think is that alcohol is harmless compared to let's say marijuana for argument sake. What people fail to realize is that both do damage. Look at it this way: If you get a buzz from it you are doing damage to your body. They have linked the use of marijuana to impotence and Alzheimer's Disease. Alcohol can also cause Cirrhosis of the Liver, brain hemorrhaging, death if too much is consumed, and it also causes Alzheimer's Disease. Not once have I heard of anyone dying because they smoked too much marijuana but how many times have you heard of people dying because they drank too much? Alcohol can actually be more dangerous than marijuana and yet it is marijuana that is illegal. Once again, a flaw in the claim that drugs are illegal because they harm you. Another reason as to why drugs are illegal is that fact that they alter peoples' moods and states which can cause bad things. One of the great fears is that people will drive while they are high. However is this a reason to keep them illegal? No. Alcohol is legal and yet people drive on it all the time. However, it is illegal to drive drunk. A law could also be passed to make it illegal for one to drive while they are high. If people are responsible for their actions when they are drunk then they can alsobe responsible when they are high. Then of course there is the great fear of, "What will happen to our country if drugs are legalized? Everyone will turn into zombies!" This is an exaggeration and also not anyone's business. If people want to be zombies then it is their right to do so. It is not illegal for anyone to be drunk all the time and yet it hasn't messed up the country. The same would probably happen with drugs. Just because they are legal does not mean that people would use them all the time. In fact, usage would most likely go down due to their availability. If it is an easy thing to get drugs then it wont be a big deal for someone to have them and the urge wont be as great to do them. You may have a little boom in their usage like the usage of alcohol after prohibition but this would not last forever. Lets start looking at how the country could benefit if drugs were legalized. Right now it is obvious that our economy is majorly fucked up due to our national deficit and it is greatly affecting our lives. Nobody wants to pay taxes in order to do away with this. The legalization of drugs would greatly help our economy. Drugs could become a totally government owned industry our drugs could just be taxed to the extremes. By just legalizing Marijuana we could generate a hell of a lot of money which we could put towards the deficit. No Republicans our Democrats should have any objections to this because taxes would not have to be raised. Another benefit is where we could direct our crime enforcement. A great deal of money is spent by the government to fight a war on drugs and as we know drugs are one of the main contributors to crime. If we legalized drugs we could cut off most organized crime rings by the balls and they would have to go back to the old days where they controlled gambling and prostitution. The police could then focus their efforts on capturing murderers instead of going after people who are just looking for a good time. Millions of dollars would also be freed by this since the government wouldn't have to finance a drug war which could all go towards the deficit. And last, but definitely not least, drugs should be legal simply because people want them. Is it really the governments business what chemicals we are putting into our body? No! And does the government even really care what chemicals we put into our body? Of course not because known substances which do damage are still legal (ie. NutraSweet, Saccharin, Cigarettes, and Alcohol.) If people want to do damage to their bodies then they should be allowed to. Our bodies do not belong to the government! Therefore the government should not say what people can and can't ingest or inject into their bodies. The government belongs to the people so if people want to be able to legally purchase drugs then they should be able to. However, drugs will not be legalized for many reasons. The one theory I tend to believe is this. The alcohol has a heavy lobbying group which gives money to the government in order to keep drugs illegal. They do this because if drugs were legalized then they would lose all the business of the teenagers which buy their products. What teenager is going to go and buy a bunch of beers for everyone at a party to get drunk on if he can go and buy a little marijuana and get everyone feeling great without any hangover effects afterwards? It is obvious that no teenager would do this and that is one of the main reasons for drugs remaining illegal. If people really want to see drugs legalized then they must start a lobbying group of their own which can eventually overcome the alcohol lobbyists. Talks and debates are not going to do a thing because the government does not care. It is a money thing. The day this happens is the day you will see drugs legalized but this will probably not happen for a very long time if at all.