Pubdate: Wed, 23 Jul 2014
Source: East Carolinian (NC Edu)
Copyright: 2014 The East Carolinian
Contact:  http://www.theeastcarolinian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/774
Author: William Franklin

DRUG PROHIBITION SHOULD END

We live in an era of prohibition of drugs-it's quite similar to the
way that alcohol was treated 90 years ago. The structures that are
in place seem to resemble or mirror the structures in place in the
1920s. We were able to move past the prohibition of alcohol, yet
we still seem to be stuck in the thought that forbidding drugs will
accomplish something.

One of the main issues with forbidding drugs is that it doesn't really
prevent people from getting them. Rather it just adds another step in
the process, which people have found a way to profit from. Drug
cartels operate in the same way that the mob did-which has proven to
be lucrative. Which is one major reason that the government should
repeal prohibition of drugs: if its legal it can be taxable and it
would also detract from the money going into organized crime.

The money of the issue doesn't even touch the fact that it is an issue
of personal freedom. The government doesn't have a right to regulate
the substances that a person choses to put into his or her body. But
just because it's legal doesn't mean that everyone would suddenly
choose to try everything. Rather it's a matter of personal choice-it
is up to people to decide for themselves.

Prohibition is not the right way to prevent people from doing drugs,
which the government doesn't understand. It's misinformation. Rather
education is the answer that people should begin to consider as the
right one. With education people would be able to make their own
informed opinions and decisions, without having some sort of moral
judgment placed on them.

The government should consider the benefits of education and the
repeal of prohibition of drugs as a meaningful way to combat the drug
problem in the United States. Because the way it's being handled now
is quite obviously not working.
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MAP posted-by: Matt