Drug Legalization Essay -- Papers

Drug Legalization Drug abuse has progressively, over the last thirty years, become a tool for crime organizations and bureaucracies, independent and under the control of the federal government, used to transform drug addiction into a profit through the passage of countless laws against drug abuse. Gore Vidal's assertive essay communicated his belief that drug addiction should be legalized in order to ensure the eventual well-being and individual freedom guaranteed to Americans by the constitution. When drugs were made illegal, freedom of choice for Americans was chiseled away by the hard-hammering central government. Many agree with Vidal in that drugs that are now illegal would be just as dangerous and addictive if they were legalized while abusers would get what they deserved given that they are aware of the often deadly aftereffects of drug use. Among Vidal's several points stated was the universal entity of "the big picture" ,so to speak, which provided the idea that drug abuse would be impossible to stop within a short time. In his first paragraph, Vidal stated this and gave the suggestion that drugs be labeled, with warnings, and sold at cost which would require "heroic honesty" among potential users as well as the labelers. This idea progressed into his third paragraph in which the subordinate concept of the natural rights guaranteed under "the pursuit of happiness" clause present the preamble of the constitution was introduced. He stated that each man should have the right to do as he wishes as long as it does not interfere with his neighbor's pursuit of happiness. When drug abuse interferes with the happiness of others, the interference, not the drug abuse, should be what is assessed under the power of the law... ...our forefathers and for which so many million courageous souls have sacrificed their lives to protect and to preserve. In order for drug legalization to gain public support, it must first be put into a grand perspective by people who are intelligent and in power which further adds to my belief and Gore Vidal's belief that drugs will never be legalized because the most intelligent people are obviously not in power at the moment. Perhaps, if drugs were legalized, the inept abusers of drugs would slowly over time be weeded out through natural selection and the remaining persons would learn from the mistakes of their predecessors and a sound foundation would be laid for our descendants. This situation is, of course, idealistic and will never become a reality unless the human race survives long enough to live out the condemnation to repeat forgotten pasts.