ey can "handle" drugs is not even quantifiable.
This burden on society encompasses the costs of the use of medical resources; losses of productivity; and the financial consequences of motor vehicle crashes, fire destruction, and criminal activity which results in the destruction of private property and in incarceration. People addicted to drugs may also be forced into homelessness, socially isolated, and experience general disruption of their life plans. Furthermore, the families and friends of drug users are often also affected; they may similarly have their lives disrupted.
For years, the United States government has sought ways to reduce the overwhelming human, social, and financial impacts of drug use. Obviously, there are many arguments against the present drug laws. For example, some say that the laws have created evils worse than the drugs themselves (i.e., corruption, violence, street crime, and disrespect for the law). Others point to the fact that legislation passed to control drugs has failed to reduce demand. Finally, some argue that at least in a democracy behaviors engaged in by a large segment of the population should not be made unlawful. Despite these contentions, however, legalizing drugs for recreational purposes would not solve the problems created by them.
Those who argue for legalization generally ignore the tremendous costs that drugs inflict on both society and the drug user. For example, in 1986, over 30,000 people were admitted to emergency rooms with drug related health problems. Of those 30,000, nearly one third were admitted because of cocaine alone. Another gruesome statistic related to drug abuse involves traffic fatalities. Ten to 15 percent of all highway fatalities involve drug use.
Moreover, of working Americans, nearly one in ten is, in some way, impaired by substance abuse. These drug users are three times as likely to be involved in on the job accidents...