Legalizing Drugs

First Language English Coursework

Assignment 3: Directed Writing

Legalizing Drugs

Write a letter in response to the article by Fulton Gillespie entitled “Legalizing Drugs” in which you analyze and evaluate the information it contains and the views it expresses.

Dear Mr. Gillespie,

I recently read your article about legalizing drugs, which I found to be both stimulating and interesting. I believe that you presented your case for the legalization of drugs very rationally, and provided a convincing series of arguments. However, while I am inclined to agree with most of them, there are some that I believe in which you are mistaken.

You mentioned that in your opinion, heroin has no long-term side effects. According to the New South Wales Department of Health, however, there are many long-term effects of heroin. These include loss of appetite, long-term constipation, an increased chance of developing heart and lung problems, menstrual irregularity for women, and lack of sexual activity for both sexes. In addition, the possibility of overdosing also increases with prolonged use of heroin. An overdose can lead to the drug victim falling into a coma, or dying. These are all long-term effects of heroin. On top of all that is the extreme probability of addiction, and what is known as the gateway theory – use of and addiction to small drugs like heroin could lead to use of and addiction of larger and more potent drugs.

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Another matter of concern for me is that the very process of legalizing drugs would be both complicated and exhausting. You pointed out yourself that there are many in positions of power that would not benefit from the legalization of drugs. For example, corrupt governments who use the prohibition of drugs as an extra source of government income would be extremely reluctant to lose this privilege. Those who influence others through drug activities would also not want to give up this power. Additionally, the legal process itself would be tiresome. At present, there are many drug laws, such as the aforementioned in your article, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. If drugs were legalized, these laws would be rendered counterproductive and unnecessary. That being said, it would not be realistically feasible or acceptable to most if a proposal for the legalization of drugs meant the removal of all the previous laws that contradict this new one.

That being said, I still agree to the most extent with your view that drugs should be legalized.

You pointed out that prohibition of alcohol in America in the 1920s did not work in the past – therefore, it will continue to remain a hopeless means of controlling drugs in the future. I believe that this is a strong argument. When prohibition was announced in January 1920, hundreds of speakeasies – illegal bars – sprang up. Despite the best efforts of prohibition agents, criminal activity thrived because millions of Americans, particularly those in urban areas, were not prepared to obey this new law. The huge demand for illegal alcohol created a new occupation in criminality in the form of bootleggers. This is similar to the way in which criminals nowadays are provided with a black market for drugs simply because they are illegal. Many Americans also produced their own whisky. Not only were the illegal distilleries a major fire hazard, but the alcohol they produced was frequently poisonous. The same can be said for many street drugs nowadays, which are more often than not adulterated and impure. Corruption within the government and law enforcement groups during the 1920s was also a major issue. Likewise, at present, there are many governments and influential people who abuse the illegalization of drugs for their own purposes. Not surprisingly, prohibition was repealed in December 1933, after being in effect for a mere thirteen years. Clearly, alcohol prohibition in the 1920s did not work as well as it could and should have. Therefore, I believe that we should learn from our mistakes in the past, if only for the hope that they will not be repeated in the future. The current prohibition of drugs obviously isn’t working out, so rather than leaving things as is, adopting the legalization of drugs might actually produce some beneficial results.

You also stated that for you, drugs should be a public health, rather than a criminal, matter. I agree with you fully on this matter. Instead of continuing to pour billions into the costs of law enforcement, the money should be aimed at funding regulation of drugs, education and prevention of new users, and a chance to openly receive treatment and rehabilitation opportunities. Regardless of the reasons and motives behind drug usage, users should be viewed as victims, not criminals.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. If you have any questions or further comments, please feel free to respond accordingly.

Sincerely yours,

Becky Chang