Legalizing Drugs To Benefit The Economy?
Don’t worry, you’re not on the wrong blog, I assure you. I just happen to hear some of the most interesting things sometimes and I thought this would be a topic we could really sink our teeth into.
There is some debate among analysts that the solution to the U.S.’s economic problems is to legalize drugs. I’ll get to how they came to that conclusion in just a minute, but realistically, there are two arguments at play here. The first argument is about legalizing only marijuana, and the second concerns legalizing all street drugs.
Now I know your first instinct is to recoil in horror and think that such a thing is crazy. For the time being, let’s suspend our frame of reference and hold off on moral judgments. Instead, let’s look at it based on numbers.
Argument # 1 - Legalizing Weed
The “sticky icky” has been around for a long time. Those of you from the 60s and 70s may have even tried it a time or two. Here’s what we do know about weed. We know that when someone gets high, their judgment is impaired, not unlike alcohol’s same affect. There is no conclusive evidence that weed does anything harmful to us beyond what both alcohol and cigarettes do. There is some concern over the high content of tar within the product, which could potentially accelerate damage to the lungs at a faster pace than cigarettes; however, beyond that, there is nothing to suggest that pot itself will kill you, particularly when only used for recreation.
Those against legalizing marijuana have said that in doing so, we’d be sending the message to our kids that it’s ok to smoke weed and more people would become addicted to it. Others have used moral arguments to refute the idea and dismiss it out of hand. It is morally wrong, therefore it should not be discussed.
Well, here’s the thing. According to Bloomberg.com
Analysts for legalizing marijuana say that the benefits of doing so could be of tremendous help to the economy and the citizens. Their data and research comes from looking at statistics from other countries, but the ideas are much the same. Some of the numbers have been adjusted from the analysts’ initial findings to include inflation and the like.
1.) Legalizing marijuana would inject roughly $10 billion in tax revenue into the economy. That money could be used in other areas like improving education or working on a new energy policy to rid us of our dependence on foreign oil.
2.) By legalizing the substance, the government could save a substantial amount on the war on drugs. So far this year, the government has spent $34,433,700,162 on the war on drugs, so legalizing at least marijuana would cut back a good portion of that, which is more money that can be funneled elsewhere, including towards the deficit.
3.) Some analysts believe that legalizing marijuana will cut back on police corruption, drug-related crimes, and will open up new jobs as marijuana farms will crop up throughout the U.S.
4.) If the substance is legalized, the government will have more control over the content of the product and the regulations. For example, the product could be required to go through rigorous testing before being delivered to consumers hands to ensure safety. In addition, strict regulations could be imposed such as they are for alcohol and cigarettes - users must be at least 18 (or 21), they could set a standard legal limit like they do with alcohol, impose higher taxes on the purchase of the substance, and limit the advertising that marijuana companies would be able to put out there.
Argument # 2 - Legalizing Crank
Even I have a hard time suspending my moral judgments with this argument because the fact is, the hard drugs have been proven to be very harmful to people. And that alone is enough for me to say I don’t think its a good idea to legalize them. It’s also the reason I think the government wouldn’t even entertain the notion of legalizing them.
Beyond the harmful affects, drugs like cocaine and ecstasy are really seductive at first. The high they promise lure people in, especially kids. So the concern is that by legalizing these drugs, more kids would become addicted and more would lose their lives. Given the harmful affects these kinds of substances have, it’s hard to argue against that.
However, the benefits of legalizing them would be to inject (no pun intended) roughly $40 billion in tax revenue to the economy, a total savings on the war on drugs, a decrease in drug-related crimes and murders, and still another increase in jobs. Really, the benefits for legalizing all street drugs is much the same as legalizing weed, it’s just on a larger scale. What has to be decided is whether the benefits far outweigh the consequences.
Personally, I don’t see a problem with legalizing weed based on the evidence. To me, it seems very much like alcohol and cigarettes. I don’t smoke and I drink on rare occasions, so for me, if marijuana were legalized it really wouldn’t matter. I have no desire to try it. But, since there is no evidence to suggest it is harmful beyond what both alcohol and cigarettes do, then I see no reason we should waste money on trying to keep it off the streets when that clearly isn’t working - and they’ve made an exception to legalize it for medicinal purposes.
Just legalize it and use the gained income to get us out of debt and work towards other important projects - like education and an energy policy. I also think it’s silly that companies fire perfectly good employees who went to a party and smoked a little weed for fun. Since it’s currently illegal, I understand the reason behind having to do so; however, it’s a waste when good employees have to be fired.
Now, the argument on legalizing all street drugs is absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. I don’t know who thought that would be a brilliant idea and a wonderful solution to our problems, but it would not. While legalizing them would put an end to the black market and give us more money in tax revenue and savings on the war on drugs, the problem is that we’d then be in hostile relationships with those countries smuggling drugs in. It’s a big business for them - and IF by some twisted, unforeseeable reason the government would do this - they would certainly insist on it being U.S. made so they could control the purity of the substance. There are so many things wrong with this on so many levels, I can’t even adequately put them into words. But then, I’m making a moral judgment. Someone else may be able to look at this objectively and see it differently.
Ok, now that I have your blood boiling and veins popping out of your foreheads, let’s talk about this. Do you think considering either option is a waste of time? Why or why not? Would legalizing drugs in some form help the economy?
I always thought that criminalizing cannabis while allowing alcohol and cigarettes was an awful double standard.
And I don’t agree when people say that cannabis impair judgment. It’s just a plain wrong bold generalization. It would be like saying that alcohol makes people violent because a handful of people who don’t know their limit becomes violent when they drink. Was it sufficient ground to ban alcohol ? No.
Does it affect your judgment ? There is no doubt, but everybody is different, drugs and alcohols affect them in different way.
Our governments believe we cannot take proper decision by ourselves, they think we have no judgment. They seems to think that legalizing cannabis will turn everybody into a mentally impaired pot-head overnight.
Yea, i did a video about this a while back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22dX74hgTiw
I think legalizing marijuana is an excellent idea! The reason so many people smoke it, especially the youth, is because it represents a form of rebellion against mainstream culture. In other countries where smoking pot is not illegal the people there do not use it as a symbol of freedom and resistance. Because of the way marijuana is demonized in the media when kids do try smoking it and realize that it’s not as bad as the lies they have been told then they start to loose respect for authority. This is the #1 reason for marijuana becoming a gateway drug. The lies. The logic goes something like this, “Hmm.. pot wasn’t so bad, I bet crack is OK too! Those fucking liars.”
The effects of marijuana are mild and euphoric, no worse than a stiff drink. However, they do last longer (6 hours). So don’t drive while stoned.
Economically speaking, legalizing marijuana would do wonders for the economy, especially since we can produce oil from hemp. Since Marijuana is a weed it grows back extreamly quickly! Hemp was a required crop of the founding colonies because it’s fast array of industrial uses. It’s only around the 1930s that it became illegal because of the oil revolution. Hemp was a powerful competitor to the paper industry and petrol industry. It’s amazingly versatile plant. It has been in use for over 12,000 years. The first American flag was made out of hemp fiber.
http://naihc.org/hemp_information/hemp_facts.html
“Help the economy” is a rather nebulous term.
Legalizing and regulating the sale of all recreational substances would have a number of positive impacts. I don’t know whether it would be a positive change in GDP or if it would increase real earnings by the middle class or if it would push the DOW higher but if I had to take a guess I would say it would be a mild positive to negligible negative impact on any of those statistics.
Positive Impact #1: The possibility of rehabilitation for all addicts. Currently, only wealthy addicts get treatment for their medical condition, the rest get prison which does little to affect their addiction. Since almost everyone serious about the topic agrees that each dollar spent on rehab equals about ten spent on enforcement by way of reduction of demand for drugs, we’re at least being more economical about our anti-drug expenditures. This could benefit the economy by getting more people out of the revolving door prison system and into the workforce. Reforming addicts also raises productivity. Not to mention that all these addicts are somebody’s friends, children, parents or siblings. I’m sure everyone would like to see uncle harry get help getting off smack rather than rotting in prison.
Positive Impact #2: Elimination of Crime. We often hear about gun control in the wake of violent gang crimes. Did you ever wonder where the gangs and criminals get all their guns, cars, hush money, body guards, bribes and nice suits? They get it from black markets. If we convert the black market into a legal market, they suddenly lose MILLIONS of dollars. Think of that… if we stop pushing a billion dollar market into the shadows, criminals access to those funds will dry up. I don’t really like the idea of big corporations pushing drugs, but I’d take it over people who would shoot up the neighborhood.
Positive Impact #3: Think of the CHILDREN!!!! Won’t somebody PLEASE think of the children? When’s the last time you saw an underaged kid walk into a 7-11 and come out with a case of beer? What? Never? Hmmm, imagine that… those 7-11 clerks, despite their lack of education, meager training, paltry wages and poor working conditions, are remarkably good at keeping beer away from minors. Why? Because they are accountable. There are store logs, register logs, id logs, VIDEO CAMERAS, UNDERCOVER OFFICERS and LAWS keeping them in line. If they sold one kid some beer they could lose their jobs and go to jail. Unlike the drug dealer who has a criminal record, the gas station employee WORRIES about consequences. Do you think your local drug dealer checks ids? Do you think undercover officers come around to do ID stings? Do you think there is a camera monitoring your kids while they try to score drugs? Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable if there WAS?
I’m just saying. The Office of National Drug Control Policy recently said that marijuana was easier for high school students to obtain than alcohol or tobacco. If that’s true we ought to follow the regulation model for those substances rather than the prohibition-era policies we’re currently riding on the way to social and financial ruin.
there are more reasons than economic to legalize. watch this incredibly informative video from the former seattle police chief who believes marijuana should be legal.
http://reason.tv/video/show/514.html
You missed one pretty important statistic in your article. The last time I checked which was about 10 years ago when I was doing drug talks to schools, church youth groups, Boys ranches, and other places - according to the US Bureau of Vital Statistics the yearly deaths caused by alcohol and cigarettes was 500,000 died every year because of these two substances. The yearly deaths caused by marijuana was 0, zippo, nada, not even one! So why even ask the question if marijuana should be legalized - especially in light of the economic facts you brought out - of course it should be legalized. In California where it is legal within limits, it’s the second largest cash crop in the state weighing in at $13 Billion a year industry. The state government just sent out 200 notices to 200 marijuana dispensaries reminding them that they have to collect and pay state sales tax on their sales of marijuana. Other states have also legalized marijuana (medical marijuana - which is broad enough to cover anyone who wants to smoke it), so why create a new war on drugs between the state governments and the federal government? Give it a break - the majority would welcome total legalization of marijuana and the US would enjoy the economic windfall this would create in which your article so plainly points out.
er… if this appears twice, can someone delete this copy! (I hit submit and nothing happened first time so I’m trying again)
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Before diving into an issue like this, you need to understand what you’re up against. It is best explained by Bob Altemayer in his excellent (free and online) book “The Authoritarians” http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
Whilst not strictly dealing with the legalisation of recreational drugs, Altemayer fully explains the psychology of those who, up till now, made and continue to make the relevant decisions which - amongst other political disasters - created and maintain the ongoing civil war we know as the War on Drugs.
What becomes clear from his decades of research is that these people are not open to (and indeed, in some senses, are completely incapable of) the kind of of intelligent rational analysis you are attempting with this article. It literally doesn’t matter to them how much money they might save/make for the economy because their goals are not financially directed. They primarily feel compelled to control us for purposes which are, at best, ill conceived and at worst, extremely dangerous.
Prohibition of ANY drugs (unless they are designed to kill, or tend to have that effect in normal use - which is not true of any of the current generation of recreational or physical enhancement drugs) cannot be justified by any objective risk analysis. Informed consent, quality regulation and taxation -like those we already apply to tobacco and alcohol - are all the tools necessary to “control” drug use and its few negative effects.
Approximately 90% of all the harms attributed to drug use and distribution actually arise directly from the authoritarian practice of Prohibition. Take Heroin as an example. If you are rich enough, and have a reliable supply of pharmaceutical grade heroin, you can sustain your habit for a lifetime and maintain perfectly normal social and economic lifestyles. Unlike tobacco, for example, if you avoid overdosing, it won’t even shorten your life expectancy. Heroin is only dangerous if you consume too much of it or if it is mixed with dangerous “cutting” agents.
Overdosing almost always happens because “normal” street heroin is impure and diluted. When addicts get their hands, unwittingly, on a quality supply, they may kill themselves by taking the same amount of the pure version as they were used to taking of the inferior version. That can sometimes mean that they are increasing their dose by 200% and, as the difference between an effective dose and a lethal dose can be less than that, fatalities are not uncommon. However, that problem is not caused by the heroin as such. It is caused directly by the prohibition which a) increases the price (to compensate suppliers for the increased risk) b) removes any regulation from the production and distribution system and thus c) incentivises and enables cheating which leads to dilution and either overdosing or poisoning.
Finally, of course, heroin addicts, desperate to get their next fix and finding it too expensive to sustain on their normal wages, are driven to crime to sustain their habit. The street price of illegal heroin requires an addict to find up to a couple of hundred dollars a day to feed a serious habit. The actual cost of production of that heroin is less than a couple of dollars. A commercial supply chain could make a healthy taxed profit supplying their needs for about $10 a day - which wouldn’t fuel a property crime wave.
Prohibition also creates stronger and more dangerous drugs on the simple basis that they occupy less volume and are thus easier to smuggle (per street dollar) than the original, mostly natural drugs. The heroin you need, for example, to feed the habits of a hundred junkies for a week, will take up no more room in a smugglers package, than a few hours worth of the original opium. So Prohibition forces drug users to move up the scale to “harder” drugs. Methamphetamine, Angel Dust, Crack (not Crank by the way!) and even Skunk are all novel drugs created entirely by the existence of Prohibition.
All of this has been clear to anyone who seriously studies the subject for decades. Several official studies commissioned by governments have made the same and related points for more than a hundred years. NO serious report has ever argued in favour of prohibition. ALL governments have consistently rejected all such reports. Most famously, Richard Nixon handpicked a team of drug war supporters to study the subject and even they came down against prohibition. Nixon threw the report in the bin without even reading it.
So if no politician (who is likely to get close to having a grip on power) has the guts or intelligence to address the issue rationally, the question we should be addressing is not “what is the solution to the Drug problem” - we already know that and what you’re suggesting is a small part of it. The real question we should be addressing is how do we deal with a Political System which permits such egregious irrationality to continue without serious challenge. And, of course, the problems that creates go far wider than the War on Drugs.
For my own take on the War on Drugs please click the link to my website, which I’ve directed to the relevant chapter of my own online book in which I am trying to address that “real question”…
I for one am actually for ALL street drug legalization. Honestly, we have the highest user indices in the world and some of the world’s most stringent drug policies. Although I don’t dismiss moral judgments out of hand, I feel that we in America are too prone to rely upon them solely to justify our aversion to drug legalization. No study, none, zero, has proven that legalizing cocaine, crack, speed, lsd, etc. would increase the user rates. In fact, the prevailing evidence evidence seems to indicate (although weakly) that lower restrictions lead to lower use. Be honest, do you really believe more Johnny and Sally Suburbs will use crack just because it’s legal and available?
I am no drug pollyanna, I have seen heroine literally eat people alive. But there is no doubt in my mind that those who abuse these types of substances (and I don’t even include innocuous marijuana in this category) will abuse them regardless of the legal structures in place. The drug war simply ruins innocent non-violent “criminals” lives needlessly.
Your moral arguments against legalizing all drugs are kind of contradictory to your reasons for legalizing marijuana. When i was in high school a couple of years ago i could get literally any drug at any time(give or take a couple of hours), but i didn’t (for the most part), and so could any other kid walking those halls. But the key point is MOST DIDN’T. There is no reason to think, as you said with marijuana, that simply because hard drugs are legalized people are going to go en masse to shoot up cocaine or heroin. With hard drugs being regulated we solve multiple problems: keeping them out of kid’s hands with regulation(a key reason for legalizing marijuana), minimizing overdoses, minimizing the spread of disease(needles will be freely and cheaply available so that addicts would not have to reuse/share their needles), and reducing law enforcement costs and corruption.
As a note on relations with other countries that export drugs to our country, the only two hard drugs that come from abroad are cocaine and heroin. The raw product still has to come from abroad for it to be a profitable product because they already have the infrastructure to do so. Who’s going to pay X amount of dollars for a ton of opium poppies grown in the US when you could get them for a tenth or a hundredth of the price from the middle east/far east. As someone who has been associated with drug culture, I can tell you right now that most users who go above and beyond marijuana use a variety of drugs, most of which are not cocaine and heroin, the remainder of which are made right here in the good ole U.S. of A. (go skim erowid.org for list)
I’d like to sidetrack at the end of this little post for a second. “Drug Education” in this country is a joke. 15 years after the fact and its still “Just Say NO”. That is not education about drugs, that is brainwashing plain and simple. I remember my DARE class giving little to no information about drugs themselves. While this may work for a segment of the population, it obviously doesn’t provide any help to the other segment of the population who chooses to use/abuse substances. With legalized hard drugs information would be far more freely available, you’d go to your local “drug store”, whatever that may be, and pick up a pamphlet on any of the plethora of drugs available to the average user, along with “safe” usage guidelines, something your street dealer isn’t going to say a word about. I can almost guarantee that 95% of young people who start using substances learn everything about the substances they use from their peers, who, lets face it aren’t much better educated than they are. With a wealth of unbiased, non-stigmatized, reliable information with no ulterior motives available, I’m convinced that less young people would be given to trying these substances. Have you seen the Faces of Meth? Powerful stuff, but it is provided by people who have something to gain by spreading the whole drugs are evil mythos, the drug warriors. This essentially gives a young person no reason to trust the information provided by these people if they are considering using a substance.
Anyway, food for thought, though I doubt I’ll be changing anyone’s minds about something many consider to be highly immoral and willing to legislate.
Yeah, ok. But when I imagine the day of legalization, I wonder many things:
-Right now, the entire weed production and distribution system are in the hands of criminal networks. If you legalize pot tomorrow, you would be legitimating their business, and allowing them to make a legal profit and expanding their business. Otherwise, how exactly is legalization supposed to work? Are you going to raid the entire nation looking for weed, take control over the production and distribution and the next day make it legal to sell at special stores? It’s such a complicated thing, I can’t imagine it.
Taxes… yes. From whom? From dealers? So, legalization implies legitimation of an activity which is now criminal?
If the gov takes control over it, would it legalize every kind of pot, or just mild sorts? Are they going to control the THC content of cannabis?
I’m totally pro legalization, as I’m myself a smoker. But I think it’s not going to happen any time soon.
J - I did say that I had a hard time putting moral judgments aside for the hard stuff. I’m not opposed to weed because, in my opinion, and by that of the statistics, weed doesn’t hurt anyone directly. I mean, sure, getting behind the wheel while stoned is the equivalent of driving while drunk, but the substance itself isn’t the problem, it’s the person who doesn’t know their limits. Conversely, the hard drugs like crack, lsd, heroine and the like are physically harmful to our bodies and minds. I’ve never personally tried any drug, so I can’t say one way or the other for sure, but it seems to me that the harder drugs are more addicting than weed. Again, it comes down to being a moral judgment, if it’s contradictory, then that’s what it is; however, I did qualify that whole argument by letting you know that’s what I thought.
Kristy wrote:
> I mean, sure, getting behind the wheel while stoned is the equivalent of driving while drunk
Driving stoned is very different than driving drunk. However, I can accept the whole “driving while impaired” compromise if it means doing away with criminalization of marijuana.
BTW, how much experience do you have with pot?
Mike - I’m not suggesting they are the same thing. I’m suggesting that driving while stoned can be detrimental to an individual in the equivalent manner that driving while drunk can be. It was only a comparison to point out that marijuana does not directly harm an individual, it’s the choices they make while under the influence that may harm an individual.
In reference to your other question, none. I’ve said before I’ve never tried any drugs, but I’m still not opposed to weed being legalized.
Kristy,
Nice job on this topic. One thing that I wish I had included in my blog on the economic benefits is discuss the reduction in prescription drug abuse as a result of other drug legalization. Rx drugs like oxycontin, oxycodone, vicodin, etc. have seen abuse rates increase while seeing decreases in the high-school drug playground I was familiar with: heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and several hallucinogens. Perhaps this is a counter to the moral argument…teenagers will get their hands on something to rebel by altering their state of mind whether it is weed, nitrous oxide from common propellant products, or their parents’ prescriptions. We need action plans to treat the social problems that arise, not regulate all of the substances available to consumers who may purchase them and use them responsibly resulting in no harm to themselves or anyone else.
great topic! and I don’t know the answer.. just have more questions. I don’t do drugs or alcohol.. or even drink coffee. I believe alcohol can be just as damaging as many drugs. I think the temptation to do drugs is because they are illegal. I find it interesting that many Europeans allow they young adult children to drink wine… do they abuse more then same aged Americans?
Ahhh.. I love the slippery slope posts :)
First of all, I’ve read many great posts but did anyone mention the fact that due to the War on Drugs, we now have 1 in 100 American adults behind bars??? …or 25% of worlds prisoners are in American prisons and jails in this country. China has less people in prisons than we do with 3 times the population. Many, if not most of the American inmates are in there for drug charges by being addicts, from the sale of drugs, a dirty pee test that sends you up the river for years, mandatory minimums, conspiracy, etc.
Anybody want to put a price tag on that?
We have yet to see anyone on this blog opposed to the legalization of drugs.The goverment has been fueling addicts for years.Where do you think crack-cocaine came from.It was put on the streets by the feds in Southern California to arrest poor people and to see the effects.Halucinigen were given to soldiers in Vietnam to see the effects without them even knowing at first.Alot of people may think of these things as just stories but I assure you it happened.Right now this country has a far worse dependance on the legal drugs that the goverment already profits off of.Most pain killers are made out of opium an illegal drug,and the drug marinol(FDA approved) which is ussually used in terminal patients for appetite stimulation and there costs are outragous.Our tax dollars are already being used so that the goverment can profit off of things that are illegal to us.In my opinoin the legal drugs hurt our citizens worse than the illegal ones.We have all seen the adds the pharmecutical companies put out there and with marketing means profit.What do they want,us on drugs or us in jail.Anyone who thinks the goverment thinks of the well-being of us must be on better drugs than me.I am a recreational cannibis user and have never thought i was addicted to it like i am with cigarettes.If the goverment had it there way we would die sooner than later.In my opinion Marijuana being legalized would improve this country drastictly.Not only would more people be laid back it would help to get a handle on alot of the troubling issues we are faced with today.In short the legalized production of marijuana would free up billions of dollars for our economy.It would be a vital step in curbing dependance on foriegn oil,it would curb deforestation(it takes two to three times the wood to make paper than hemp.I will go as far as saying it would help global worming.It would give jobs and free up the prison system.In the mid 80’s when maditory minimums began the fedral bureu of prisons had about 220 million dollars in reserves,Today that number is exceding 5 billion dollars and over 50% of the prison system is full of non violent offenders most are simple drug offenders.There is a war on drugs,hows side are you on.
If everyone rally has these views I would suggest you all join NORML.It is the National Orginization of Reformed Marijuana Laws and it a great start.
legalize marijuana
legalize all drugs, the government can use the money they save fighting a drug war they will never win to give treatment after people become addicted, also there will be less crime, people will not need to rob, or kill to get drug money, just give them the dam drugs free, and let them be on their way to enjoy their so called high, I do not do drugs, but why continue to fight a battle that can not be won, and contines to get worse anyway, so give them the dam drugs,, FREE,, oh well is just my opinion,have a nice high all you idiot drug users.
The harder drugs should be illegal just because of the extreme addictiveness that they impose. However, weed and other less dangerous drugs should be made legal and taxed. But, should people really be put in jail because they want to harm themselves? Dealers and pushers should be locked up instead of users. If a person wants to shoot some hoop, why not let them? When they start affecting the public is when action should be taken. I have no problems with people doing drugs within the confines of their own home.
Should drug be legalized? I think not.
Myth 1) Drugs only harm the users. wrong. There have been countless people who have harmed another person because they were mentally impaired while under the influence of a narcotic. Even if drug only harm the user, aren’t we as American citizens and fellow human beings responsible for others action that might effect us. If you don’t agree think about health care, the government is not really supposed to be giving it to us,but we as humans have evolved into compassionate individuals that respect life, even if it is not ours. So in a way drug users are harming not only themselves, but every individual they come in contact with.
Myth 2) Drugs create health benefits. Although some drugs do have benefits, they are only effective when taken in moderation. Drug consumers have a tendency to become addicted with one dosing. Can you imagine a society were there are people addicted to the medication that is supposedly making them better, when in reality it is making them more sick. No, you can’t expect everyone to believe this, but tell me what happens when illegal drug are available to every person on the block? You will have children believing that all drug are good because the government allows them, you will have major birth defects because mothers are not able to subside the addiction while pregnant, you will have father and mothers beating their children because they are not in a stable state of mind, you will have utter chaos.
I can write many more myth about drugs, but if I haven’t convinced you by now then there is not point to continue. If we can trust people alone with drugs than maybe there should be some argument to allow them be legalized. But tell me all you parents do you really want you kid lock up in their room doing “Legal” drugs? All you so called friends do you really want a persons you know to be shooting up themselves in your bathroom? If you do then maybe should think twice about the cause and effect of legalizing drugs not just your personal opinion. Because in the end we all want what we cannot have even if its death.