Drug Decriminilization

Drug use across the United States has been an epidemic and source of concern for decades. Crime and health issues have forced society to deal with the issue. The current policy of the United States and Texas has been described as a ‘war on drugs’. This process criminalizes all parties involved with illegal drug use. Traffickers, dealers, and users are all treated as criminals. In recent years there has been much controversy over how to handle the problem of drug use, and the ‘war on drugs’ policy has been called into question. Some feel that the current policy has worked and is necessary to combat drug use. Others feel that the users themselves should not be treated as criminals. A third group feels that drugs should be legalized altogether. So the question is, should the United States decriminalize drug use?

There are many groups affected by this issue. Since drug use is such a large problem, the public overall has an interest. Government agencies in charge of stopping drug use are affected since policy dictates the tools they can use. Civil rights groups have many concerns with drug policy as do both Republicans and Democrats. Health providers are concerned with costs as

Secondly, they believe that the government has a right and duty to protect its people. They see drug use as being so damaging that the government must stop people from using it, and therefore, must forbid the use of illegal drugs. The harm that drugs do justifies the sacrifice of any civil rights (DEA).

Possession of marijuana is treated by itself in Texas. Possession of less than two ounces of marijuana is a class B misdemeanor with a fine not to exceed $2,000, or confinement in jail not to exceed 180 days, or both. Possession of drug paraphernalia is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 (The Texas Senate).

Frontline Drugwars. 12 June, 2002.

At the end of the fifties, American families were focused on achieving the American Dream and fighting the Cold War. There was also a post-war prosperity that was unprecedented (Jones 206). Even with this prosperity, young Americans were disillusioned with the values of their parents and uncertain about the future (Morgan 162). These youth quickly picked up the ideas of Ginsberg, Huxley, and Kerouac. They had the time and money to pursue these ideas and rebel via drug use. To them drug use was not hedonism or escapism, but a way to expand the mind and perceive new realities (Morgan 161).

With the increase of drug use so drastic, the Nixon era saw the Controlled Substance Act passed in 1970, uniting several drug laws and creating federal standards for drug control. This law also placed narcotics in different levels called schedules based on uses (Woods 51). This marked yet another sway in public policy, going back to the criminalization of drug use.

Some topics in this essay:
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