Drug abuse is seen as a major social problem that has been the occasion for a massive effort on the part of the U.S. government to interdict drugs before they arrive in the United States, to use criminal sanctions to stop traffic in drugs in American communities, and to place a stigma on drug use so as to control it and to influence successive generations not to take up drug abuse in the first place. This effort has been very costly in terms of money and human suffering. The fact that drugs are illegal has created a vast underground market for them and has contributed to the rising crime rates in our communities as drug abusers steal and commit murder in order to get the money they need to purchase their drugs. The perception that the drug war has been a failure has contributed to calls for legalization as a new way of coping with the problem. Those calling for legalization have numerous arguments as to why this would benefit society in the long run by reducing street crime, reallocating law enforcement priorities, and shifting the battle against drugs from law enforcement to treatment. Opponents of legalization feel either that these benefits would be illusory or that taking a moral position against drug use is more important and can be more effective under the present law enforcement model. The claim to be examined is that the United States should legalize all non-prescription drugs, with arguments pro and con considered and compared.
Many Americans today may believe that drug use has always been illegal in the United States, but it is not so. Before 1906, there were no regulations on the various nostrums and tonics that were available as cures for every known ailment. There were no requirements as to what could and could not be included in the ingredients for these remedies, and these so-called "patent medicines" might contain high amounts of alcohol, morphine, heroin, cocaine, or a combination of these ingredients. D...