Legalisation of Drugs - A contemporary debate in Today's Growing World

In recent years governments around the world have been debating upon the contention of the “drug problem” however despite several efforts it is evident that the misuse of drugs remains a persistent transnational issue.This essay will explore why legalisation of all drugs is in fact detrimental to a nation both in terms of society and economy and establishing why vigorous enforcement of stringent laws is the ideal approach for a nation.

While a defining argument of proponents of legalization is that it in fact reduces consumption, A simple economic model suggests that reduced prices, increased availability and accessibility are eminent factors resulting in increased consumption patterns for ‘availability is the mother of use’. hese increased consumption and production patterns have severe implications on personal health, societal torment and economic upheaval. This can be substantiated by a simple example of Italy who liberalized its drug law and now has one of the highest heroin-related addiction and death rates in Western Europe.These increased consumption and production patterns have severe implications on personal health, societal torment and economic upheaval.

The personal harm caused by a drug on an individual can be elucidated in terms of its acute toxicity, and likelihood to produce long-term health problems. Acute toxicity is the adverse effect produced by a drug following either a single exposure or multiple exposures under 24 hours apart. It includes fatigue, irritability, paranoia, stroke,seizure, etc while long term effects include cancer, chronic cough, bronchitis, HIV and hepatitis, complications in pregnancies and indubitably drug dependency and addiction. Legalisation of drugs however would impart the idea that the proliferation of such drugs is acceptable, increasing the possibility of an epidemic.

The inherent redundancy of legalisation of drugs can be explained by the economic concepts of negative externalities of production and consumption, which indicate that in the case of drugs, the cost to society is greater than the cost to producers and the benefits to society are subordinate to the benefits to consumers. This can be substantiated by three arguments - the increase in crime rate, increase in communal issues, and decrease in the quality of life. According to studies conducted by The National Research Council and United Nations, a close connection between crime and drug use is seen in studies of arrestees - drugs are likely to result in aggressive and violent behavior and crimes in consumers and narcotic drug dealers’ practices habitually involve violence. Moreover legalising ‘all’ drugs includes examples such as date rape drugs which further facilitite crimes for example Amsterdam, where access to drugs is relatively unproblematic, is among the most violent and squalid cities in Europe, proving legalisation, intrinsically increases availability and rate of crimes in society.

Increased drug usage also is predicted to increase communal issues such as increased drug cartels, unemployment, homelessness, and high-school and college drop out rates, due its adverse effect on an individual's capacity and rationale. Additionally legalisation of drugs will result in environmental damage for it allows for increased cultivation of drug crops such as marijuana which require extremely fertile soil. However experts have noted that, unlike indigenous farmers, the practices cultivators of drug crops are far more wasteful, resulting in rapid depletion of soil.All the aforementioned consequences of legalisation result in the impoverishment of factors such as security and health which determine the quality of life, and standard of living of an individual and society.

However societal unrest is not the only aftermath, the economic upheaval which will be rendered is an important aspect to consider. The deleterious nature of drugs alter brain mechanisms and instill physical limitations which would unquestionably result in economic unproductivity in work forces which for they are dominated by the same age group that has the highest frequency of drug use - 18- 35 years. Moreover the loss of revenue in the form of economic costs such as police, courts, military, treatment programmes, welfare payments to drug addicts and their families, as well as increased security measures by businesses will remain unparalleled. Moreover proponents may argue that legalised drugs supplemented with high taxes would be an optimal solution, however this will only result in further avenues for black markets, which legalisation claims to eliminate. This argument of economic instability can be perfectly substantiated by the Opioid epidemic and its economic impact revealed in the 2019 report.

Proponents often cite Portugal as an example to support the ‘legalization’ of drugs however there is an inherent flaw in that argument for all drugs were "decriminalized," not "legalized." Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, indicating their injurious nature. Another defining argument of proponents of legalisation of drugs is that prohibition or criminalization infringes upon the liberty of personal autonomy. However, addictive substances rob an individual of this very free will and in accordance with the prominent theory of The Social Contract, the act of prohibition of drugs is justified for it is in the best interests of society, as proved by the former arguments.This act of criminalization of drugs targets the supply chain at every level - cartels, transportation, black markets and consumers, and thus strengthening the different segments of criminalisation is the ideal approach for limiting the torment production and consumption of drugs results in. This may be done through devoting resources to research, prevention, and treatment;sensible use of courts, punishment, and prisons which can encourage misusers to enter treatment and thus reduce crime and severing enforcement of criminal law which will reduce the ease of availability of drugs, the primary problem at hand.The aforementioned arguments in cohesion therefore prove that all drugs should not in fact be legal to produce and consume.

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