The use, sale, manufacture, or possession of illegal drugs has some pretty stiff penalties in the United States. In many cases drug offenders get more punishment than rapists and murderers. Every law-abiding citizen in the United States with the gift of common sense would agree that the more heinous the crime the more the punishment should be. Not the other way around. Many people do not understand illegal drugs and their use. Human beings have always been scared and acted aggressively toward those things in which they do not understand. Politicians learn early to harness such fears and use them to spear head (a.k.a. the war on drugs), while catapulting themselves into an office of power and wealth. Such leaders to believe that drugs are bad have lured many. But are drugs bad?
Drugs have been present in every civilization since the beginning of time. From early on ancient civilizations found healing powers in the plants that grew around them. In medieval times alchemy produced magic solutions for almost anything. Many of these solutions contained drugs that would disorient any who drank them. American Indians have used peyote for centuries to enter the spirit world and receive enlightenment. The British fought a wa

This new legality does not have much support from those opposed to drugs. Those against liberalization of prohibition are doing everything they can to slow the process. The following article from the New York Times best illustrates the current battle of drug legalization.

“MDMA is illegal in every country on planet Earth. This is due to a UN ban on the drug. Why is it illegal? This is unknown. The drug is safe, non-addictive, and does not produce violent tendencies in its users. (Compare this to alcohol, a legal drug, which kills tens of thousands of people each year.) The only answer is the taboo that exists in our society against using perception-altering substances” (Legal Ramifications 1).

The group that is most publicized in the war on drugs are addicts. Addicts are the most troubled group and cause the most trouble where drugs are involved. People that are addicted to drugs are weak-minded. They have addictive personalities and could become addicted to anything. Addicts lose all self-control when they get hooked. Their addiction becomes their excuse to give up all responsibilities. They become addicted to crying for help. They become addicted to using their habit as an excuse. They become addicted to accepting failure. Addiction cases are small in comparison to that of responsible users. There is help available for those that wish to be helped. Many addicts have walked the road to recovery and now lead a more meaningful life. For the most part addicts can’t help what they do but they can be helped to change.