What Are The Arguments Against Drug Legalization And Decriminalization?

With the continuing discovery of drugs’ effects, uses, and treatments, drug legalization and decriminalization has become a highly contentious issue in our modern world with some groups promoting full legalization while others seek outright bans. Several countries such as Portugal have taken steps in decriminalization, which entails eliminating jail time for users but not dealers and traffickers, as opposed to legalization, which involves removing all penalties for drug usage (Vastag). On July 1, 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drugs and established a stronger support and rehabilitation system for those caught with drugs, which is the antithesis of the government’s intentions in 1984 (Rosenberg). To the government, drugging the citizens induces complacency and peace. By focusing on …show more content…
The numbers of street drug overdoses dropped to only three deaths per one million in 2012 in comparison to the European Union’s average of seventeen per one million and the United States’ average of two hundred per one million (Rosenberg). In addition to the regular drug usage lowering, “…the use of ‘legal highs’ – like so called ‘synthetic’ marijuana, ‘bath salts’ and the like – is lower in Portugal than in any of the other countries for which reliable data exists” (Ingraham). With the number of deaths and the usage of these and other immensely dangerous drugs down, the number of people occupying prison cells, and thus the taxpayer cost, is down, reducing the per capita cost of taxpayer euros for prisons by 18% (Drug Decriminalization). Prior to the decriminalization of drugs, offenders accounted for 43% of inmates in 2000, but in 2015, offenders only accounted for 24%, and almost all were dealers and traffickers (Rosenberg). Due to the progressive measures taken by Portugal, the general quality of life has improved, much to the surprise of critics at the