Drug Legalization

             This factual essay explains the benefits of legalizing illegal drugs that grow from the ground. It is important to understand that our issue does not deal with legalizing man-made drugs such as acid or ecstasy, but drugs that grow from the ground such as heroine, marijuana, opium, cocaine, and crack. Man-made drugs are usually almost always fatal, while, ground grown drugs, if used in reasonable amounts, have no deadly effect.
             In a contorted way, one can argue America could "afford" to lose the war on drugs. Times were good, government budgets through the '90s sufficiently elastic, and the criminal justice system was kept busy. City neighborhoods may have been devastated, but there was little political outcry because the millions who got imprisoned tended to be politically less effective -- the poor and minorities.
             The harsh fact -- especially for state and local governments -- is that resources are limited. Every cop who isn't chasing a kid selling cocaine on a city street is a cop who could be guarding a subway station, a stadium or public plaza. Every detective not tied up in drug cases can be checking leads on potential assaults on city water reservoirs or local power stations. Or take the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Every DEA agent who isn't involved in a futile effort to stop an easily replaceable drug shipment from entering the U.S. can be investigating terrorist cells or working to prevent Bio-terrorism or nuclear terrorism. Yes, nuclear terrorism, which almost surely will be tried against us in the coming years.
             It's time to get serious, and deal with dire threats first. Instinctively, some federal agencies are shifting already. The FBI's changed its focus to terrorism. The Coast Guard has reportedly switched close to three-fourths of its personnel and boats from drug interdiction to anti-terrorist patrols. Sharp moves in priority are also reported at the C
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Drug Legalization. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 08:16, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/90800.html