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Drugs are capable of ripping apart families without any help from the drug war, thank you very much. Alcohol is certainly high on this list and there are a sle

Drugs are capable of ripping apart families without any help from the drug war, thank you very much. Alcohol is certainly high on this list and there are a slew of prescription drugs up there with it, but we shouldn't pretend that there is not a public health crisis from rampant amphetamine, opioid, and alcohol misuse, whether obtained by illegal means or not. Of course, the issue is continuing to receive increased awareness as a public health crisis and not a criminal one as both usage and law enforcement encroach more heavily into middle and upper class, predominately white society. Law enforcement's role in the drug trade is never going to go away completely, nor is organized crime's. I do think, however, that we as a society are finally starting to see some movement in the direction of reducing their influences. The question in my mind - and I think in many people's minds who are for decriminalization - is, will we put anything in their place to help people and families in need?

api 11y ago
Addiction is a symptom of other underlying psychological or neurological problems, not a cause. Healthy people do not become addicts any more than healthy people run high fevers or vomit uncontrollably. The underlying causes of addiction are medical, psychological, and social, and fixing those is the solution. Criminal drug prohibition harms everyone. It harms non-addict drug users in an obvious way: by punishing them for a completely voluntary non-crime. It harms addicts by punishing them for having a psychological health problem that should be treated, and the follow-on effects of criminal prosecution further damage their lives (e.g. having a felony) which in turn causes them to be more likely to suffer from further addiction. Finally, it harms society by creating a massive off-the-books profit center for criminals that in turn increases crime and promotes corruption. (I call it the "federal subsidy for organized crime.") It also wastes police resources that could otherwise be available for pursuing more pressing problems. If drugs are legal, why would organized crime continue to be involved?
- misja111 11y ago
  I agree with your point that legalizing drugs is a good way to attack organized crime and to be able to focus on treating addicts instead of criminalizing them. I strongly disagree however with your first point, 'Addiction is a symptom of other underlying psychological or neurological problems, not a cause'. You are implying that all addictions start with a psychological or neurological problem. Let's take smoking addiction as an example. In the 60's, almost 50% of the adult population in the USA was smoking. Even today almost 20% is. Not all of those people started because of some underlying mental problem. Other factors such as group pressure, role models or just plain boredom are much more important, whether it is for nicotine, alcohol or any other addiction. Furthermore, addiction can definitely be a cause to both psychological and neurological problems. The first one, psychological problems because of an addiction, is obvious. But recent discoveries have shown that certain drug addictions (e.g cocaine) also modify your brain structure.

api 11y ago

Addiction is a symptom of other underlying psychological or neurological problems, not a cause. Healthy people do not become addicts any more than healthy people run high fevers or vomit uncontrollably. The underlying causes of addiction are medical, psychological, and social, and fixing those is the solution. Criminal drug prohibition harms everyone. It harms non-addict drug users in an obvious way: by punishing them for a completely voluntary non-crime. It harms addicts by punishing them for having a psychological health problem that should be treated, and the follow-on effects of criminal prosecution further damage their lives (e.g. having a felony) which in turn causes them to be more likely to suffer from further addiction. Finally, it harms society by creating a massive off-the-books profit center for criminals that in turn increases crime and promotes corruption. (I call it the "federal subsidy for organized crime.") It also wastes police resources that could otherwise be available for pursuing more pressing problems. If drugs are legal, why would organized crime continue to be involved?

misja111 11y ago
I agree with your point that legalizing drugs is a good way to attack organized crime and to be able to focus on treating addicts instead of criminalizing them. I strongly disagree however with your first point, 'Addiction is a symptom of other underlying psychological or neurological problems, not a cause'. You are implying that all addictions start with a psychological or neurological problem. Let's take smoking addiction as an example. In the 60's, almost 50% of the adult population in the USA was smoking. Even today almost 20% is. Not all of those people started because of some underlying mental problem. Other factors such as group pressure, role models or just plain boredom are much more important, whether it is for nicotine, alcohol or any other addiction. Furthermore, addiction can definitely be a cause to both psychological and neurological problems. The first one, psychological problems because of an addiction, is obvious. But recent discoveries have shown that certain drug addictions (e.g cocaine) also modify your brain structure.