for the last few decades. Marijuana was first federally prohibited in 1937. Today, nearly 70 million Americans admit to having tried it ( Inciardi 19 ). Whether people stop using drugs, there will always be more and more people reaching out to use drugs. For the past few decades, many people have tried to legalize drug use as well as stopping the use of drugs. Society, in my opinion, would not know how to react if drugs were to be legalized. I think that legalizing drugs will not only ruin the community, but also people's lives.

Legalization of drugs has been a failure in other nations. Great Britain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands are among the nations which have successfully provided areas where drug takers can obtain and use drugs. Recently, an MTV documentary on the drug issue highlighted coffeehouses in Amsterdam as a model for controlled, successful environment in which young Europeans can enjoy marijuana. However, the experience with legalizing drugs has had its negative effects. For instance, violent crime is a major problem in the Netherlands. A 1992 study of crime victims in twenty mostly European countries r

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports for the United States

Inciardi, James A. "The Wars on Drugs." Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1986

anks the Netherlands as the number one country in Europe for assaults and threats (Olson 79 ). The British system didn't work. Addiction levels rose, especially among teenagers, and more people became addicts. This sets an example to how it will hurt the nation as one, not only will the nation look bad, but go bad as well.

Olson, William J. " Drugs Should Not Be Legalized. " Greenhaven Press. 65-92

Vidal, Gore " Drugs." Kennedy, Kennedy, and Aaron 365-367

"Legalizing Drugs." Greenhaven Press. San Diego: 1996

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1367
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)