fter World War II this picture changed with the arrival in the 1950s of new types of powerful medications with the ability to alter mood. Physicians used these new drugs to treat various mood states and changed the practice of psychiatry forever. More and more mind-changing chemicals appeared and took hold, and marijuana came into its own in the 1960s as the drug of choice for a new generation. The 1960s was also a time of drug experimentation with hallucinogens, and though these were never legal, their use increased during this period. The market for drugs grew so large that a huge worldwide network of growers, manufacturers, and distributors came into being.
Based on an examination of the arguments to be discussed below, a number of real issues emerge which may have an impact on the claim that non-prescription drugs should be legalized, or decriminalized. These issues, questions to be considered both pro and con, are as follows:
1) Drug use is a matter of personal choice and not something that should be regulated by government because there is no
...