Drug Legalization: A Benefit to Society
...ment can be adhered to, and with little conflict. Marijuana is usually the leader in this argument mostly because of it's ability to aide in so many different areas. It is already known to benefit sick and terminally ill patients, but in it's hemp form, can be used in place of almost every single mass industrial product. Various parts of the plant can be utilized in the making of textiles, paper, paints, clothing, plastics and cosmetics, just to name a few. For a drug such as weed, legalization is almost a no-brainer. The complications arise when the discussion leans towards legalizing harder narcotics such as Cocaine, MDMA, Heroin or Acid. To what degree should the government control the right to use such drugs? If the argument is purely from a theoretical standpoint, then when a person becomes the legal age of 18 and they can be tried/convicted as an adult, the law should not be able to govern their right to the use of drugs. Once a person is considered a legal adult, it is expected that they are able, by law, to make decisions and be solely responsible for their actions and the consequences. If a person is allowed to join the army, shoot a gun and live on their own, then their decision to use drugs should be personal and not by the government's law. But the issue with this theoretical idea is that many people have no control over the amount of use, due to the strong addictive tendencies of many hard narcotics. This is the complexity of the legalization argument. If, for example, Heroin was legalized what would be the limitations of usage? It would be absurd to allow one to function in a work environment under the influence of Heroin, so would there still be ...