legalize drugs
For several decades drugs have been one of the major problems of society. There have been escalating costs spent on the war against drugs and countless dollars spent on rehabilitation, but the problem still exists. Not only has the drug problem increased but drug related problems are on the rise. Drug abuse is a killer in our country. Some are born addicts while others become users. The result of drug abuse is thousands of addicts in denial. The good news is the United States had 25,618 total arrests and 81,762 drug seizures due to drugs in 1989 alone, but the bad news is the numbers of prisoners have increased by 70 percent which will cost about $30 million dollars. Despite common wisdom, the U.S isn't experiencing a drug related crime wave. Government surveys show between 1980 - 1987 burglary rates fell 27 percent, robbery 21 percent and murders 13 percent, but with new drugs on the market these numbers are up. One controversial solution is the proposal of legalizing drugs. Although people feel that legalizing drugs would lessen crime, drugs should remain illegal in the U.S because there would be an increase of drug abuse and a rapid increase of diseases such as AIDS.
A consequentialist, on the other hand, would not shun the drug use itself as bad, rather look past the use of the drug and place their opinion on the outcome of the usage of the drug. The consequentialist way of thought, coupled with Mill's idea of the "Harm Principle" makes for a "deeper" look into the right or wrong of drug use. Loosely paraphrased, the Harm Principle can be summarized as the rights of an individual extend as far as his neighbors' face. Meaning that personal rights are only endowed upon and justly held by the bearer of these rights so as long that they do not harm nor infringe upon others' rights (Mill). In keeping with this, a consequentialist would conclude that the use of drugs and the legalization to further the use of these drugs are not a bad things so as the consequences were not ill and no one but the user was possibly harmed. Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty: Annotated Text Sources and Background any classical as well as contemporary philosophers maintain opinions and ideals that can be classified as either consequentialist or deontological. Classical philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and John Milton, along with more modern writers like Milton Friedman and Ethan A. Nadelmann are all examples of consequentialist thinkers. On the deontological side of the coin reside such well-known purveyors of classical thought as Aristotle and Edmund Burke, along with cont
Some common words found in the essay are:
Drugs Legalized, Drug Legalization, Friedman Bennett, Harm Principle, James Wilson, Ethan Nadelmann, John Milton, legalization drugs, Edmund Burke, Publishing Company, drug abuse, Norton Company, legalizing drugs, legalizing drugs lessen, drugs lessen, main ideas, lessen crime, mill john, drug related, intrinsic value, john stuart, drugs lessen crime,
Approximate Word count = 949
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
