Should the United States government legalize illegal drugs? No, illegal drugs should remain illegal. No matter what the reason, everything has a reason for being illegal. Drugs are illegal because the side effects of drugs can be harmful or dangerous to the user and to others. Methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, heroine, and other extremely dangerous drugs are all currently illegal. If these drugs were to become legal, the amount of users and abusers would surely increase. Whether you believe it or not, some people do not use illegal drugs purely because they are illegal. These people are the same people who would become drugs users if drugs were made legal.

If hard-core drugs such as those previously mentioned were to become legal, then an age limit absolutely needs to be put in place. Children and adults under the age of 21 should never be permitted to use and abuse drugs. Of course, the exception of prescription drugs will always be there. But prescription drugs should only be taken by the person they were prescribed to, as instructed by the person’s doctor. Taking someone else’s prescription drugs, or taking an over-dose of your own prescription is considered abusing the privilege of prescription drugs. These two scenarios should never be legalized. Selling your own prescription should not be made legal either.

The decision of not legalizing drugs could have no effect on the nation, but it does insure the safety of some people. Many people who use and abuse drugs stay out of the light of the police and other authorities while they are intoxicated. If drugs were made legal, these people would no longer remain hidden away while under the influence of drugs and could be potentially harmful to other people. I believe that all drugs that are currently illegal should remain illegal, and some drugs that are legal (such as prescriptions and over the counter drugs) should have restrictions placed on them. But over all, drugs should remain illegal.

v http://www.cyberessays.com/Politics/95.htm

v http://www.gargaro.com/drugs.html

v http://www.balancedpolitics.org/marijuana_legalization.htm