Drug_Trafficking_in_the_U.S.

Drug Trafficking Drug Trafficking in the United States Jeanine Clark ENG 122 Angela Temple Sept.25, 2011 Drug Trafficking Drug Trafficking in the United States New tax revenues from legalized marijuana sales could exceed $1 billion just for California. This rich new source of tax revenues nationwide would help lift the U.S. economy out of its worst recession in decades. If marijuana was legalized and regulated, an estimated $8 billion would be saved annually in government spending on enforcement, including for the FBI and U.S.-Mexico border security. “No one has ever died from simply using marijuana.” (Elders, 2004) The war on drugs is an expensive battle, a great deal of resources go into catching those who buy or sell drugs, prosecuting them in court, and housing them in jail. These costs seem particularly exorbitant when dealing with the drug marijuana. Marijuana is one of America’s top-selling agricultural products. Prohibition of marijuana is unwarranted government intrusion into individual freedom of choice. Marijuana is no more harmful to a person’s health than alcohol or tobacco, which are both legal and widely used, and regulated by the U.S. FDA. In 1972, then-President Richard Nixon appointed the Shafer Commission to study the nation’s rising drug problem. It reported the following: “Neither the marihuana [sic] user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety.” (Troianello, 2011) Drug Trafficking From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if the individual’s actions endanger someone else. This does not apply to marijuana, since the individual who chooses to use marijuana does so according to his or her own free will. The government also may have a right to limit individual actions if the actions pose a significant threat to the individual. But this argument does not logically apply to marijuana because marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs which are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco. Marijuana is medicine to many people. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s own administrative law judge, Francis L. Young, held that “marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record.” (Troianello, 2011) Drug Trafficking If marijuana were taxed and regulated, crime would go down and agriculturally based communities would profit. Legalizing marijuana is not about getting people to use marijuana, but for giving the sick relief and responsible people the choice to use it if the want to. Jocelyn Elders, MD a former US Surgeon General says: The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illness as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS—or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day. (Elders, 2004) Two of every five Americans—according to a 2003 Zogby poll—say “the government should treat marijuana more or less the same way it treats alcohol: It should regulate it, control it, tax it, and only make it illegal for children.”(IBID, 2003) The federal government has spent billions of dollars on advertisements and anti-drug programs that preach the dangers of marijuana—that it’s a gateway drug, and addictive in its own right, and dramatically more than it used to be, and responsible for all sorts of physical and social diseases as well as international terrorism. But the government has yet to repudiate the 1988 finding of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s own administrative law judge, Francis Young, who concluded after extensive testimony that “marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.” (1988) Drug Trafficking Legalization would mean lower prices and related crimes, like theft, would be reduced. All illegal drugs are higher in price because the production, transportation, and sale of the drugs are risky. Legalizing marijuana would reduce the risks and the prices. There would be less need for the secondary crimes needed to raise the money. Currently, is someone in the drug trade screws you over, there is no police to call or lawyers to litigate. Disputes must be taken care of yourself, which leads to violence. Legalization would create proper means to settle disputes. In the United States, all levels of government (federal, state, and local authorities) participate in the war on drugs. We currently spend billions of dollars every year to chase peaceful people who happen to like to get high. These people get locked up in prison and the taxpayers have to foot the bill. We have to pay for food, housing, health care, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses to lock these people up. This is extremely expensive. An enormous amount of money is raised through government taxation of alcohol, cigarettes, and other sins. The legalization of marijuana would create another item that could be taxed. I am sure the government would have no problem spending all that extra money. Many consider that war on drugs an expensive failure. You must add in the cost of police officers, judges, public defenders, prosecutors, juries, court reporters, prison guards, and so on. Legalization of marijuana would free up those people to concentrate on more important things like terrorism, harder drugs, rape, murder, and so on. Drug Trafficking Legalization would lower prices and open competition; thus, drug cartels would lose all or some of their business. The plant used in making marijuana has a ton of alternative uses, including construction & thermal insulation materials, paper, geotextiles, dynamite, composites for autos, and insect repellent. We should not limit the use of such a diverse product because on use is found objectionable by some. Clearly the war on drugs has failed, and nowhere is that more clear than with respect to marijuana. Making marijuana illegal hasn’t prevented anyone form using it, but it has created a huge funding source that funnels billions of dollars in tax-free profits -to violent drug cartels and gangs. Legalizing marijuana will improve public safety. The federal criminalization of marijuana has failed to reduce the public’s demand or access to cannabis, and it has imposed enormous fiscal and human costs upon the American people. It is time to end this failed public policy and to provide state governments with the freedom to enact alternative strategies. With such things as, medicalization, decriminalization, and/or legalization. Legalization would elimate most of the violence and corruption that currently characterize marijuana markets. These occur because, in underground markets, participants cannot resolve disputes via non-violent mechanisms. Legalization would result in numerous other benefits. Medical marijuana patients would no longer suffer legal limbo or social stigma from using marijuana. Drug Trafficking Legalization would also generate budgetary savings for state and federal governments. Legalizing marijuana will not eliminate all negatives of marijuana use. The adverse effects of marijuana prohibition are worse than the unwanted consequences of marijuana use. Legalization is therefore the better policy. Marijuana should be legal because prohibition does not help the country in any way, and causes a lot of problems. There is no good evidence that prohibition decreases drug use, and there are several theories that suggest prohibition might actually increase drug use (easier accessibility for youth). One unintended effect of marijuana prohibition is that marijuana is very popular in American high schools. Why' Because it is available. You do not have to be 21 to buy marijuana and dealers do not care how old you are as long as you have the money. It is easier for high school students to get marijuana than it is for them to obtain alcohol because it is regulated. Drug Trafficking References Drug Enforcement Administration (1988) In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Elders MD, Jocelyn (2004) Former US Surgeon General Editional, Providence Journal IBID (2003) “Polls Finds Increasing Support for Legalizing Marijuana” Alcoholism and Drug Abuse weekly 15 pg. 27 Jones, Brian (2011) Legalizing marijuana makes fiscal sense The News Herald McEwen, Bill (2010) Medical pot could ease pain of local fiscal crisis The Fresno Bee pg. A3 Petition [Docket # 86-22] Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice pg.57 Troianello (2011) Karen Troianello Yakima Herald- Republic Yakima, Wash… p. c3