Illicit Drug Use Should Be Illegal in the US - Essay Sample

Introduction

The use of illicit drugs in the US has been a probing challenge to American society. The federal, state and some local laws treat the illegal use of alcohol and other substances as serious crimes. Upon conviction, the victim could be imprisoned or have heavy fines imposed on them (Shultz and Pedro). Drug possession is illegal as far as there are no relevant authorizations even beyond the US (Frone 856). The problem and its negative impacts such as distress to the American people are always addressed in newspapers, magazines, journals and other sources of media. There is a potential for mitigating the hardcore challenges, which includes filling the gap of drug prohibition laws, penalties, enhancing law enforcement, and finding alternatives to prohibition. There are some unfavorable facts with questionable relevance to the use of illicit drugs and making them illegal in the US as some are medical while others are self-medicating options.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

There has been a great deal to reduce drug consumption in the US, yet they remain cheap and readily available to any potential users. Even though laws are governing illegal drug use, their availability questions the banning in the country. Firstly, the laws governing the use of illegal drugs do not exempt some drugs known to have health benefits to the users. Some drugs such as medical marijuana can be used as drug options for patients diagnosed with various conditions from their caregivers. For medical marijuana, there are associated benefits including the relieving of chronic pains, prevention of PTSD, and stimulation of appetite for people with AIDS wasting syndrome (Leeies, Pagura, Sareen, and Bolton 733). To some others, it can be used to treat opioid dependence and control nausea (Beletsky and Jeremiah). Cocaine can also be used as an anesthetic for surgical operations because of its numbing properties. Additionally, the illicit drug can also be used to treat skin lacerations since it narrows blood vessels easily. Some other illicit drugs are also advantageous to users such as Ecstasy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Ketamine for depression. These drugs are not excluded in the illicit category of drugs. However, their medical advantages can be a potential influence on the lawmakers to treat their authorization from medical personnel positive.

Additionally, illicit drugs can also be used as self-medicating options for people who struggle with multiple ailments. Patients cannot be constantly monitored by healthcare professionals while taking prescribed drugs. However, with the appropriate authorization, the patients can be monitored until they follow the right drugs to use for their long-term medical solutions. Patients can well be moved into greater independence in making decisions regarding the management of their conditions; hence, promoting their empowerment (Leeies, Pagura, Sareen, and Bolton 732). Additionally, self-medication is also advantageous to various healthcare systems as a result of its facilitation of better employment of clinical skills (Leeies, Pagura, Sareen, and Bolton 735). The health management responsibility skills attained can also reduce the burden on healthcare providers, who are limited to some illnesses. Some other benefits may include the reduction of the time of illness as well as prevention of the disease progression. Self-medication also increases access to medication and may enhance the reduction of prescribed drug associated costs (Leeies, Pagura, Sareen, and Bolton 735). Therefore, the medical advantages of self-medication can also be a potential influence on the alteration of the already existing rules by the relevant authorities enforcing the associated laws.

The risks of illicit medical drugs include misdiagnosis, the use of excessive drug dosages, polypharmacy, drug interactions, and prolonged duration of use. Using such drugs as medical marijuana would call for special independent information to the users to ensure effective and rational use of the drugs. Any advice offered to the consumers should include a description of their use without medical supervision and the circumstances where the referral for medical advice is important. Without such considerations, there would be more harm than safety to the users. These risks are similar to those of the self-medicating drugs. Any products to be used during self-medication should be safe for use. Therefore, there ought to be appropriate consumer information regarding the medications and avoidance as well as the delay in diagnosis and treatment of diseases that are not suited for self-medication. These drugs can also be related to prescription-only drugs, and these interactions cannot be avoided without appropriate authorization from medical professionals. The use of illicit drugs can be described as being serious and many-faceted (Frone 856). These drugs, even though medical, can also be treated as potent medications; hence, the threat to their usage.

Many people would only look for the negative aspects of using drugs such as Ecstasy, and marijuana. Therefore, the various advantages related to the illicit medical drugs and self-medication drugs are not considered while promoting the illegality of illicit drug use in the US either through campaigns or laws, via the various media (Shultz and Pedro). These advantages spread even beyond the US, and much medical personnel would dauntingly want a rule imposed regarding the usage of illegal drugs freely at medical institutions. Presently, only a few of the components of these drugs including medical marijuana is added to conventional medicine, but not indicated at the labels of the drugs for the better safety of the public. Many medicine manufacturing industries operate under strict licenses also since the negative aspects of encouraging the use of illegal drugs would harm the safety of the public.

The better position of illicit drug use is to ensure that medical personnel team up with local governments to come up with rules regarding illicit drug use, for specific people, and for what period. Teaming up with relevant authorities may create more sense in them regarding the usefulness of the drugs (Zarocostas 444). It might also make the necessary people want to adjust the strict laws more and enforce the usage of the drugs. However, the specific drugs can be stated to maintain the already-existing laws. Through maintaining a law, safe, effective, and good monetary value drugs can be offered to patients in transparency. The use of illicit drugs can, therefore, be promoted easily because of the prevalent advantages that outweigh the shortcomings of using the drugs in the dark.

Most of the medical personnel understand the advantages of taking drugs such as marijuana but do not mention it to the public because of its misuse. That could lead to death hence, increased mortality rates (Rosenstein). Even though the cost of healthcare can be reduced, as well as their time in hospitals, they remain silent regarding the issue. Their coming up to combined efforts would meet the expectations of consumers, the providers, and the American society in general. However, they fear the fact that the usability of other illegal drugs including cigarettes, and alcohol would increase as soon as some of the advantageous illegal drugs are legalized. Little is well understood also to the potential users of the drugs (Zarocostas 444). Introduction of information to the public regarding the use of drugs can be relevant to them provided they are offered strict laws related to the illicit drug usage. In doing so, the drug businesses would be more transparent, and drug use would also adopt stricter rules and conditions such as the negative effects of misuse. For instance, some injection sites could be licensed and made public hence, not destroying the surrounding community as opposed to the current situation (Rosenstein).

There is validity in the encouragement of illicit drug use. Provided that some are stimulants and effective medications such as Ecstasy and medical marijuana, illicit drug use can be well encouraged since there are relevant authorities as well as medical personnel, who can set up strict laws regarding their use. Encouraging illicit drug use can also encourage the relevant markets to alter their features and ways of operation such as offering perfect information to the clients on the quantity and quality of drugs in the transactions. Additionally, the markets can also decrease drug use gradually hence the fading of the phenomena of epidemics and contagion, and also alter law enforcement to favor the positive side. There could also be limited instances of complexities by the heterogeneity of drug use. Measurement of individual illegal drug use could also be a possibility, either within or without the framework for legal markets. Finally, drugs can also be offered expensively to the markets as soon as their advantages are made transparent to bur the misusers as there is always a connection between price and use of commodities.

Illicit drug use is particularly advantageous to the health of various people provided that there are some associated medical advantages and self-medicating options. The use of illicit drugs can well be controlled upon an understanding that there are unknown advantages that outweigh the commonly understood limitations of their usage. Many people can be healthier, attain self-responsibility, and more so, hospitalization costs and time can be well reduced for both the potential patients and the medical practitioners. However, the use of these drugs, if not controlled by relevant authority and law, can create more harm than good. The inquisitive nature of the use of illicit drugs and making them illegal in the US along with the associated advantages and disadvantages can well be addressed by creating a good action plan that favors both sides.

Works Cited

Beletsky, Leo, and Jeremiah Goulka. "The Federal Agency That Fuels the Opioid Crisis." The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Sept. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/opinion/drugs-dea-defund-heroin.html.

Frone, Michael R. "Prevalence and distribution of illicit drug use in the workforce and the workplace: Findings and implications from a US National survey." Journal of Applied Psychology 91.4 (2006): 856.

Leeies, Murdoch, et al. "The use of alcohol and drugs to selfmedicate symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder." Depression and anxiety 27.8 (2010): 731-736.

Rosenstein, Rod J. "Fight Drug Abuse, Don't Subsidize It." The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Aug. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/opinion/opioids-heroin-injection-sites.html.

Shultz, George P., and Pedro Aspe. "The Failed War on Drugs." The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2017/12/31/opinion/failed-war-on-drugs.html.

Zarocostas, John. "Misuse of prescription drugs could soon exceed that of illicit narcotics, UN panel warns." BMJ: British Medical Journal 334.7591 (2007): 444.