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JohnAlbaneseFirstPaper 5 - 28 Feb 2010 - Main.MatthewZorn
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It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. | | | Russell, can you clarify what you mean by this question? Are you referring to other vice crimes? Regardless, I don't think this essay was about line drawing. The legalization of other activities would require separate analyses beyond the scope of John's essay.
-- PeterCavanaugh - 28 Feb 2010 | |
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What bothers me more are the widespread misconceptions about drugs. MDMA, for example, during its DEA scheduling was recommended for Schedule III. Any doctor who knew anything about the drug said it had medicinal value. It had been used by psychotherapists with extraordinary success, some even calling it a miracle drug. For some, it blew anti-depressants out of the water. Of course, it ended up on the Schedule I, "no recognized medicinal value" along with Marijuana. Thank the pharmaceutical companies.
Drug policy is, and has always been, about control. For drug companies, it forces you to use their products. And the drug companies will do everything in its power to prevent drug laws from ever changing. I can't think of any other reason why you can pick up powerful dissociatives and schedule I precursors at your local Rite Aid. Drug laws are perfect for social control because they are so easy to selectively enforce. The only reason drugs aren't legalized is because more people are not arrested: white, black, rich, poor. Believe me, when people see their own uncles, aunts, parents, children getting arrested for smoking pot, it will become legalized. If legalization is your goal, then decriminalization is your worst enemy. Decriminalization is a strategic move taken by the government in order to maintain control in any way it can.
I gots more to say, but I'll leave it here for now. But to answer Derek's question--I wouldn't stop at drugs.
-- MatthewZorn - 28 Feb 2010
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JohnAlbaneseFirstPaper 4 - 28 Feb 2010 - Main.PeterCavanaugh
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It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. | | | Why stop at drugs?
-- DRussellKraft - 28 Feb 2010 | |
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> | Russell, can you clarify what you mean by this question? Are you referring to other vice crimes? Regardless, I don't think this essay was about line drawing. The legalization of other activities would require separate analyses beyond the scope of John's essay.
-- PeterCavanaugh - 28 Feb 2010 | | |
You are entitled to restrict access to your paper if you want to. But we all derive immense benefit from reading one another's work, and I hope you won't feel the need unless the subject matter is personal and its disclosure would be harmful or undesirable. |
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JohnAlbaneseFirstPaper 3 - 28 Feb 2010 - Main.DRussellKraft
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It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. | | | Conclusion
Current drug laws are wholly ineffective. While not significantly limiting supply or use, they waste billions of dollars, incarcerate millions of people, and fund criminal enterprises. Legalization and regulation will eliminate the problems with limiting supply and will finance efforts to limit demand. President Obama, an admitted cocain user, managed to avoid the consequences of the laws that he now continues to enforce. All drug users should hope to be so fortunate.
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> | Why stop at drugs?
-- DRussellKraft - 28 Feb 2010
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JohnAlbaneseFirstPaper 2 - 26 Feb 2010 - Main.JohnAlbanese
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< | | | | It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. | | | It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. | |
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> | Legalize it. All of it. | | | -- By JohnAlbanese - 25 Feb 2010 | |
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Subsection A
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> | Introduction
The United States' policies to combat the use of drugs are failures. The so-called “War on Drugs” costs billions of dollars, ruins millions of lives, and finances violent criminal organizations. The policies of interdiction and incarceration to fight drug use are ineffective. It is time to try a new solution. The United States should legalize and regulate the use of all drugs. | | | | |
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> | The Current Policies Do Not Work
The current policies mainly try to limit the supply of drugs. It attempts to do this in two ways: interdiction and incarceration. | | | | |
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> | Confiscation and Interdiction are Ineffective
Interdiction is the use of police or military force to try to limit the supply of drugs before they are brought into the country. The drugs are either confiscated in transit or eradicated at the source. Confiscating drugs is largely ineffective. The National Drug Intelligence Center estimates at most law enforcement is able to seize only thirty-eight percent of cocaine that enters the United States. Despite these seizures, the price of cocaine has decreased and the quality has increased since 1980. | | | | |
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> | Eradication is equally useless. The United States gives hundred of millions of dollars in aid each year to foreign governments to try to eradicate the production of drugs. Eradication generally involves the spraying of toxic chemicals over vast swaths of farmland. Perhaps the most glaring example of the ineffectiveness of eradication is poppy production in Afghanistan. Although the country has been occupied by the United States for nearly a decade, poppy production is at high levels. Recently, the United States gave up on its eradication efforts to focus on alternative methods.
Incarceration is Costly and Counterproductive
Likewise, incarceration efforts have failed. Over 300, 000 people in this country are imprisoned for drug law violations. A conservative estimate for the cost of imprisoning a person is $20, 000 per year. This means that the government is spending about six billion dollars a year to keep drug offenders in prison. Many of these people are unable to find jobs after serving their sentence and return to using or selling drugs. Due to the violent nature of prison, imprisoning people can transform the non-violent drug offender into a violent one. | | | | |
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> | Drug Laws Have Painful Side Effects
Besides failing to limit the supply of drugs, these laws have two tragic side effects. Since drugs are illegal, the main producers and sellers are criminal organizations, including large drug cartels, terrorist organizations, and street gangs. It is estimated that the illicit drug trade makes $321.6 billion a year. The lucrative nature of the drug trade creates competition that often leads to extreme violence. | | | | |
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> | In addition, the drug laws are particularly harsh on addicts. Since drug use is illegal, addicts are unable to receive the help that they need. They are forced to try to hide their addiction and are reluctant to seek treatment. Due to a lack of clean needles, they are at risk for AIDS and other diseases. Because of the the unregulated nature of the product, addicts never truly know what they are taking. Drugs are often cut with poisonous chemicals such as bleach or rat poison. Addicts are one bad hit away from death. | | | | |
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> | The lessons to be learned from the failures of interdiction and incarceration are simple. Drug producers will produce more drugs to compensate for the amount that will be seized or eradicated. People will continue to sell drugs because it is a lucrative business. Without reducing demand, the supply of drugs will not decrease. | | | | |
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> | Drugs Should Be Legalized and Regulated
The government should legalize use and regulate the sale of all drugs. This policy will eliminate current wasteful expenditures while providing a source of revenue, stop the harmful side effects of current laws, and allow the government to focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. | | | | |
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> | Legalization and Regulation Will Provide Revenue
Besides eliminating ineffective and costly efforts to limit supply, legalizing drugs will provide the government with a source of revenue. Currently illegal drugs should be sold and taxed like tobacco and alcohol. In addition to removing this stream of revenue from violent organizations, this money can be used to fund education and rehabilitation programs to try to decrease demand for drugs. These programs are cheaper and more effective than attempts to limit supply. | | | | |
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> | Legalization Will Provide Better Treatment
Moving these substances out of the black market will benefit the victims of drugs, the addicts. Drugs will be safer to take as there is no danger that they will be cut with poisonous substances. Addicts will no longer be at risk for AIDS by using dirty needles. The government will be able to identify at-risk people and offer them treatment. The Swiss program for treating heroin addicts is a good model to follow. The users go to center where they can obtain the drugs. These centers offer rehabilitative, medical, and educational services. | | | | |
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> | Legalization Will Not Increase Use Among Youth
Contrary to popular belief, legalization will not necessarily lead to an increase in use. Portugal, while not legalizing, has decriminalized drug use since 2001. Many at the time feared that drug use would increase, especially among children. This has not happened. The use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and ecstacy among youth has actually fallen. This policy has allowed the Portugese government to focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment for drug use. | | | | |
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> | Conclusion
Current drug laws are wholly ineffective. While not significantly limiting supply or use, they waste billions of dollars, incarcerate millions of people, and fund criminal enterprises. Legalization and regulation will eliminate the problems with limiting supply and will finance efforts to limit demand. President Obama, an admitted cocain user, managed to avoid the consequences of the laws that he now continues to enforce. All drug users should hope to be so fortunate. | | |
You are entitled to restrict access to your paper if you want to. But we all derive immense benefit from reading one another's work, and I hope you won't feel the need unless the subject matter is personal and its disclosure would be harmful or undesirable.
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JohnAlbaneseFirstPaper 1 - 25 Feb 2010 - Main.JohnAlbanese
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It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted.
Paper Title
-- By JohnAlbanese - 25 Feb 2010
Section I
Subsection A
Subsub 1
Subsection B
Subsub 1
Subsub 2
Section II
Subsection A
Subsection B
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