Which drugs, if any, should be legalized?

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The Third English Assignment                                                              0334716

HEFP in Law                                                                         12/04/2004

Done By:        Xin Liu (Jenny)

Course:        HEFP Law

English Tutor:        Julia Strutt

Submission Date:        Tuesday 27 April

Total Words:        2243 Words


1.        Which drugs, if any, should be legalized?

In modern society, nowadays, there is a large debate on whether the drugs should be legalized. Under this topic, each of us has a different value, so we may not come up with the same position, but people probably just consider the word ‘legalize’ and ignore the source of this debate. What are drugs? Why is it illicit to use drugs?

First of all, what do drugs exactly mean to people? This is fundamental to understand their potential abuse.

A psychoactive substance is something that people take to change the way they feel, think or behave. Some of these substances are called drugs, and others, like alcohol and tobacco, are considered dangerous but are not called drugs. Following the significant improvement of technology, today there are in total, more than 200 different kinds of drugs in the world. These can be divided into two groups based on their origin – natural and synthetic drugs. In the past, most drugs were made from plants, such as the coca bush for cocaine, opium poppies for heroin and cannabis for marijuana. Now drugs such as ecstasy or phencyclidine are produced by synthesizing various chemicals. Drugs of abuse fall into three categories according to their effect on user’s central nervous system (CNS): depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens, and are either ingested, inhaled, smoked, injected or snorted.

Depressants, such as heroin and barbiturates, are sedatives that act on the nervous system. They provide artificial relaxation and relief from anxiety and mental stress but tend to produce psychological dependence; withdrawal from heavy use is severe. Stimulants are agents that activate, enhance, or increase activity of the CNS. They include amphetamines and synthetic appetite suppressants such as phenmetrazine. Stimulants can give rise to symptoms suggestive of intoxication, including tachycardia, pupillary dilation, elevated blood pressure and nausea or vomiting. They can also cause violent and aggressive behaviour, agitation and impaired judgement. A full-blown delusional psychosis may occur. Hallucinogens are chemically diverse and produce profound mental changes such as euphoria, anxiety, sensory distortion, vivid hallucinations, delusion, paranoia and depression. These include mescaline and marijuana.

Drugs abuse can be harmful in a number of ways, both through immediate effects and through damage to health over time. Such as during pregnancy, the use of drugs can threaten the health of both the mother and her baby, and it is more likely to increase the infant mortality. Of course, the effects depend on the drug and on the amount, method and frequency of use. Some drugs are very addictive, like heroin, while others are less so. But the upshot is that regular drug abuse or sustained exposure to a drug - even for a short period of time - can cause physiological dependence, which means that when the person stops taking drugs, they experience physical withdrawal symptoms and a craving for the drug.

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According to scientists different drugs can harm human body quite differently. For instance, hallucinogens, like phencyclidine, distort users’ perceptions, alter heart-rate and blood pressure and, in the long term, cause neurological disorders, depressions, anxiety, visual hallucinations and flashbacks. Cocaine and amphetamines cause tremors, headaches, hypertension and increased heart-rate. Long-term effects include nausea, insomnia, loss of weight, convulsions and depression. Heroin use initially results in nausea, slow respiration, dry skin, itching, slow speech and reflexes. Over a long period of time there is a serious risk of developing physical and psychological dependence, which can result in acute overdose and even death ...

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