Drug abuse as a major social problem
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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.
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of needles and thus help reduce the spread of AIDS in society.
That this is important is seen in the statistics on the transmission of AIDS by IV drug use. A recent survey showed that over fifty percent of the drug using subjects injected drugs on a daily basis, while 70 percent shared needles with other addicts. Only 22 percent used a disinfectant with their needles every time they injected. It was further found that 86 percent shared a "cooker" with other users, and nearly 50 percent reported injecting in a shooting gallery. These subjects were not merely dangerous to themselves, since 90 percent reported having sexual relations in the six months prior to the interview, with one-half having had multiple partners. The subjects rarely used condoms.
Professionals and researchers note that prevention efforts to reduce the risk of AIDS among IV drug users should be a priority considering the high levels of AIDS risk behavior within this population and the fact that the sexual partners of IV drug users are also at risk. The sharing of needles by drug abusers is one of the major means of transmission of the HIV virus into the general population. It is more rational to legalize drugs and control their use than to allow the
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3280
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)
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