Drug Education and Prevention Question #2 March 8th 2000 Will the legalization of certain drugs reduce the crime rate in the United States? This question has baffled United States lawmakers, reformists, and citizens alike for so long that many people probably consider it a rhetorical question. With this in mind, I think that the only solution would be to go to the research and see what studies would say about the dilemma. For this particular paper, I found some research that looked at the legalization of marijuana in the United States, and I think for all intensive purposes, it is the best drug to discuss in respect to legalization anyway. To be completely honest, I think that marijuana should be legalized in our country. That is just a personal opinion, that I'm sure is shared by the majority of kids that are my age as well. But, personally I do not use marijuana for medical or medicinal purposes, but at least fifty percent of the people that I associate with do use it so I am familiar with it. One of the reasons that I think it should be legalized is the fact that alcohol is legal. In all of my experiences with the two drugs, I believe that the effects of alcohol definitely outweigh those of marijuana. Let's just say that I would much rather be on the highway with someone who is stoned on pot than to be on the highway with someone that is really drunk. I also think that legalizing marijuana would cause the supply and demand to shift and the price would plummet, alleviating the need of some to rob and kill for enough money to support their habit. I could argue my point for paragraphs, but instead, I will see what research says about it, and who knows, I may change my mind. The article that I used for this paper came from the June 1998 issue of The Journal of Legal Medicine. It is entitled "Is the debate a Smoke Screen for Movement Toward Legalization." The author cites in the article an episode of the sitcom Murphy...