Smack, Blow, Rock: Should They Be Legal?
Hampton 1
Aly Hampton
Instructor Robinson
Eng 1101-41
9 Apr 2013
How would you feel about waking up to a late night collect phone call from a county jail? This person has been arrested for drug possession and, as it turns out, they are an addict and have been for years. Now, not only do you ahve to spend money to bail them out, but then have to invest in a rehabilition program. Unfortunately, it costs a small fortune to aid someine in overcoming an addiction. If all illicit drugs in the United States were legalized, the amount of drug users would diminish and the money that is now used to capture and incarcerate drug users could be spent on creating and maintaining affordable, if not free, rehabilitation centers.
The legalization of narcotics in America is an argument that has been going on for years and there have been several essays and articles written on the topic. As time goes on, it has become apparent that this will be a continual battle and that neither side seems willing to compromise. This makes sense though, as how would one be able to find a satisfactory middle ground? While there is no way to anticipate what the outcome of either decision would be, based on the available literature and statistics it can be concluded that all currently illegal drugs in the United States should be legalized, which would be for the greater good of the country.
One article pertaining to the topic of drug legalization in America is author and essayist Gore Vidal's "Drugs." Vidal's thesis in his article is that all currently illegal drugs in America should be legalized. A major point in Vidal's article is that most drug addiction in America would come to an end if the legalized drugs contained labels warning the users of the consequences involved with taking the drug. Vidal also states that Americans are free to do what they want with their bodies. He goes on to compare the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920's and its ill effects on society to the prohibition of drugs today. He also mentions that both the United States government and the mafia are against drug legalization because there is too much money in the illegal distrubition of narcotics. Vidal ends his article by stating that the likelihood of a practical response from the government regarding the legalization of drugs in America is non-existent (460-462).
Gore Vidal is a well-known American writer with strong liberal views. His essay "Drugs" is a well written argument that contend that all currently illicit drug in the United States should be legalized. This author makes a point of reminding the audience that, "it might be good for our citizens to recall that the United States was the creation of men who believed that each man has the right to do what he wants with his own life as long as he does not interfere with his neighbor's pursuit of happiness" (461). By allowing an American citizen the right to use drugs in his or her own home, there is no interference of the pursuit of happines of the man next door. One could argue that young people who have loud parties and drink whiskey all night and keep the neighbors up inhibits their neighbor's pursuit of happiness; however, the people at the party are only given slaps on the wrist or at the most a citation.
Another statement Vidal writes that makes a lot of sense is, "Every man, however, has the power (and should have the legal right) to kill himself if he choose" (461). This follows up the previous point in that, as a country built on the principles of freedom, each individual is constitutionally granted the freedom to treat his or her body as he or she chooses. Also,
Hampton 2
American citizens are legally allowed to pursue happiness in any way they choose, which should include how they choose to spend their free time and/or modify their body. The law allows citizens to purchase alcohol and cigarettes which are medically documented as having negative side effects, including but not limited to cancer. There are now laws that govern the circumstances in which individuals can receive tattoos and other body modifications. With similar regulation, illicit drugs and their distribution can be maintained under the same types of laws.
There are three main types of possible persuasive appeals. Unfortunately, Vidal does not successfully use any of these and it hurts his argument. While he was vigorous in the expression of his opinions, his statements are not backed by any statistics or verifiable results. However, Vidal does attempt to pander to the American's innate desire to fight for freedom. He seems to be trying to invoke feelings of frustration towards the government in order to elicit a response that supports his opinions. Vidal also makes himself identifiable when he states, "For the record, I have tried-- once -- almost every drug" (460) in order to connect with the reader. However, even though the essay is concise and emotionally compelling it is hard to compare the words of a writer of fiction to the words of a prize winning non-fiction writer.
In the same fashion as Vidal, Pulitzer Prize winning author A.M. Rosenthal writes a compelling article pertaining to the topics of drug legalization in the United States. His article, "The Case for Slavery" postulates that all currently illegal drugs in America should remain that way. Rosenthal goes on to compare currently illegal drugs in America should remain that way. Rosenthal goes on to compare current drug addiction in America to 19th century slavery. Rosenthal argues that drug addiction rates would rise if all illicit drugs were made legal. Rosenthal employs several sources, including a book written on the topic of drug use and numerous leaders in the anti-drug movement. The author concludes his article by pointing out the dangers of drug legalization, especially based on class (462-464).
(This is incomplete, I haven't typed the rest in yet, I ran out of time.)
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