Arguments for and against Decriminalization of Drugs

Document Type:Research Paper

Subject Area:Politics

Document 1

, 2014 pg. I hereby argue that decriminalization of drugs is not supposed to happen because this will reduce the severity of punishment served to those found in possession or using the hard drugs hence the rate of addiction will substantially raise from its current state. Arguments for going against Decriminalization of Drugs Increased Narcotics Business Lessening the punishment that comes with being found in possession of drugs is a bad idea because this will contribute to a tremendous increase in the supply of these substances on the streets. When suppliers realize that the penalty for holding drugs has been reduced to certain levels that one can gladly absorb the disciplinary action then their efforts in ensuring they sell the drugs will equally be as much as they are willing to take the risk (Porto, et, al.

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, 2014 pg. Eventually, it shall be difficult to manage the high number of drug users. The Political Point of View Decriminalization of drugs may lead to calls for the legalization of these substances. A drug like cocaine, for example, could bring catastrophic outcome if it were to be legalized and people freely use it without any legal implications having been set. When there is less punishment for people holding drugs then the use amongst them becomes rampant. It is this increased use of narcotics that will motivate individuals to fight for the legalization of drugs so that they can have total freedom of using them and do away with the little restrictions that may be limiting their use of drugs (Laqueur, 2015 pg.

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Reallocation of resources to the health sector means that other dockets of the economy will run short of services hence affecting the prosperity of a nation. The loss of lives has a tremendous effect on the economy of a nation because a good number of individuals who would have helped in providing human personnel in industries and companies will be missing. Even if deaths were to be prevented, addiction in itself does not leave a person in a good state of carrying out productive duties. All these could arise if decriminalization of drugs happens (Wang, 2018 pg. Drug Experimentation People are different biologically and some individuals have a higher probability of getting addicted to narcotics than others. Hence, it makes no sense reducing punishment on drugs possession and use trying to evade narcotics trafficking crimes, only to bump into other offenses resulting from the influence under hard substances.

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A Reduced Burden on Courts Just like the issue of crime reduction, lessening the burden on courts will not do any good to the fight against murder and other drug-related wrongdoings. Decriminalizing narcotics implies that not many cases will be presented to court because the punishment for holding drugs has probably been reduced to a mere fine or something bearable (Husak, 2018 pg. The addicts will somehow find their way into the courts as a result of the wrongdoings associated with drug abuse. A good example is someone driving under the influence of bhang and then they end up causing an accident due to their carelessness and ignorance. , 2015 pg. However, the disadvantages that come with lessening disciplinary action on matters to do with handling narcotics outweigh the advantages.

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Less punishment on holding drugs would mean that people do not have much to fear in terms of legal prosecution. Consequently, more narcotics shall be supplied on the streets making the chances of having more addicts increase. To be fair enough, it would only sound realistic if something with more good than bad is picked. Gonçalves, Ricardo, Ana Lourenço, and Sofia Nogueira da Silva. "A social cost perspective in the wake of the Portuguese strategy for the fight against drugs. " International Journal of Drug Policy 26. Henderson, Alexander. "Portuguese Defiance: Analyzing the Strenuous Relationship between Drug Decriminalization and International Law. Porto, Maria Stela Grossi, and Welliton Caixeta Maciel. "Decriminalization of drugs: An alternative to decrease Brazilian violence. " Open Journal of Medical Psychology 3.

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