Assessment of drug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Assessment of drug - Essay Exampleeach year in interdiction efforts. Nevertheless, in 2004, the National Survey on medicine Use and Health (NSDUH) reported about 166,000 heroin social functionrs in the United States, out of more than 19 million people age 12 and all over who reported using an illicit drug within the past month (SAMSHA report, section 1.4). Chronic heroin consumptionrs may resort to stealing, prostitution and other crimes to expect for their habit. New users turn to snorting and smoking the drug, giving them less of a high but also carrying less of a stigma and avoiding the telltale drag marks. The tenacity of heroins hold on humanity begs the question Would the United States be better off if heroin -- or some produce of poppy-derived opiate -- were legalized Would it be stovepipe to let the government, or approved non-governmental organizations and charities, handle maintenance and long-term treatment of heroin users, with the goal of curing them of their add iction The experience in other countries, pair with medical evidence, shows that it is certainly worth exploring some form of legalization that removes the criminal profit motive and focuses on reducing demand for drugs by treating drug use as a public health concern, rather than a crime.Since Richard Nixon declared war on drugs in 1973, the United States has spent billions in a losing make believe trying to eradicate the use of illegal drugs in America. For the 2007 fiscal year alone, the Bush administration requested $12.7 billion for federal drug control efforts (National medicate Control Strategy, 2006, 1), a figure that doesnt begin to cover state and local law enforcement, court, prison and health care costs, or more sibylline costs such as lost productivity in the workforce. This paper focuses on the potential benefits and risks of partial legalization of heroin -- which, along with cocaine, particularly chap cocaine, probably faces the highest stigma of all illicit drug s. However, the same problems that make heroin so reviled, including its addictiveness and potential for harming the user, are what make heroin an ideal test sideslip for controlled legalization along a medical/public health model. Rather than continuing to fight a war that cannot be won, the United States should beat a strategic retreat -- and seek a true victory elsewhere, looking to actually solve the problem by acknowledging the medical and psychological reasons for drug use in the first place. Then, the nation could focus on addressing those issues head on, without apology, and with an eye on continuous improvement for the betterment of its citizens and communities.Legalization in any form is seen by many as a moral failure. The thinking is, if something is wrong, it is wrong not to stop it or outlaw it. It has proven difficult, however, in almost a century of legislation, to curtail the use of drugs like heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Instead, the laws have created a pervasiv e and profitable black market controlled by criminals, who pocket the cash succession the American taxpayer foots the bill. Legalization in some form, with the intent of controlling demand, could go a long way toward eliminating criminal trafficking, deaths and overdoses due to im minute/too pure product and the spread of deadly diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis. Refocusing heroin as a sign of a medical condition, not a criminal or moral failing, would bring users into treatment where they