The drug laws in America are often viewed as an unquestionable part of discouraging unwanted behaviors in our society. Federally, the Drug Enforcement Administration has been tasked with combating drug use. In addition to this, state and local governments make and enforce their own laws and regulations with respect to drugs. The term “ War on Drugs” is something that most people are familiar with and it is no secret that if you are caught with illegal drugs, you will find yourself in a very undesirable legal predicament. But even with the social stigma and the legal consequences associated with it, drug abuse is still a prevalent issue in our society. I believe that focusing on the treatment and prevention of drug addiction would be more effective than punishing it. Though some people believe that harsh legal consequences are necessary to show that we will not tolerate drug addicts, I believe this is more likely to further alienate them from their chance at recovery. While most people would not argue with the idea of a healthier and more harmonious society, many are still perfectly willing to argue that we must outcast and alienate large groups of people in order to achieve this. This seems incredibly contradictory. While we ask that our citizens be functional, responsible, and contributing members of society, we are simultaneously taking away their ability to do so. When we handle the issue of drug use with imprisonment and criminal charges, we remove many of the necessary resources required for a person to integrate back into society. Since many upstanding employers and companies require a background check, the recovering addict who seeks out honest employment will now struggle even more than the average person to find a respectable job. If a drug offender is lucky enough to find an employer who is willing to overlook their past, their journey still appears to be an uphill battle because employers are not the only people to perform background checks. In most safe and livable neighborhoods, the kind of place where you would want to go if you were trying to clean up your life, landlords will also do background checks. I feel that this sends the message that a recovering addict must try twice as hard to be half as good as the rest of society. Surely, we cannot stack the deck against them and then go on to wonder why it is so common for an addict to reoffend. Though the threat of punishment for a drug offense is often foreboding enough to turn many people away from drug use, it is highly ineffective for some groups of people. One concern of decriminalizing substances is that the laws and punishments are necessary in order to prevent even more issues with addiction than we have now. However, just as the average American can differentiate between having a drink and being an alcoholic, I believe the same is true for drug use. The goal should not be to prevent responsible citizens from making their own decisions about substance use or to protect them from themselves. The goal should be to prevent the actual harmful behaviors which take a toll on our society. Punishment for addiction is ineffective because addiction itself is not a legislation problem; it is a social problem.
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Addiction is a problem which is often multi-generational among families and is also heavily dependent upon factors that a person cannot control being born into such as poverty, poor education, and mental health problems. Most healthy and responsible adults do not want to repeatedly poison their bodies at the expense of their own well-being and the well-being of their families. Because of this, I feel that we are incorrectly targeting the problem as one in which we require a heavier hand. Instead, I feel that we should focus on the various factors that play into creating the type of person who feels so hopeless in life that their only joy becomes chronic and debilitating drug use. While imprisonment, expensive fines, and social stigma create consequences for a drug addict’s poor behaviors, I feel that treatment and prevention would be a more practical and effective plan. Jail, probation, and a criminal record do nothing to address the factors that might have led a
Addiction is a problem which is often multi-generational among families and is also heavily dependent upon factors that a person cannot control being born into such as poverty, poor education, and mental health problems. Most healthy and responsible adults do not want to repeatedly poison their bodies at the expense of their own well-being and the well-being of their families. Because of this, I feel that we are incorrectly targeting the problem as one in which we require a heavier hand. Instead, I feel that we should focus on the various factors that play into creating the type of person who feels so hopeless in life that their only joy becomes chronic and debilitating drug use. While imprisonment, expensive fines, and social stigma create consequences for a drug addict’s poor behaviors, I feel that treatment and prevention would be a more practical and effective plan. Jail, probation, and a criminal record do nothing to address the factors that might have led a