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

Assessment of drug - Essay Exampleeach twelvemonth in interdiction efforts. Nevertheless, in 2004, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) inform about 166,000 diacetylmorphine users in the United States, out of more than 19 million people period 12 and over who reported using an illicit drug within the past month (SAMSHA report, fragment 1.4). Chronic heroin users may resort to stealing, prostitution and other crimes to pay for their habit. New users turn to let out and smoking the drug, giving them less of a high but also carrying less of a steel and avoiding the telltale track marks. The tenacity of heroins hold on humanity begs the question Would the United States be f each apart off if heroin -- or some form of poppy-derived opiate -- were legalized Would it be best to let the government, or sanctioned non-governmental organizations and charities, handle maintenance and long-term treatment of heroin users, with the goal of curing them of their addiction The expe rience in other countries, coupled with medical evidence, shows that it is certainly worth exploring some form of legalization that removes the criminal good motive and focuses on reducing demand for drugs by treating drug use as a cosmos health concern, rather than a crime.Since Richard Nixon declared war on drugs in 1973, the United States has spent billions in a losing cause trying to eradicate the use of illegal drugs in America. For the 2007 fiscal year alone, the provide administration requested $12.7 billion for federal drug control efforts (National Drug Control Strategy, 2006, 1), a prognosticate that doesnt begin to cover state and local law enforcement, court, prison and health care costs, or more esoteric 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 crack cocaine, probably faces the highest stigma of all illicit drugs. However, the same problems that make heroin so reviled, including its addictiveness and potential for harming the user, are what make heroin an type test case for controlled legalization along a medical/public health model. Rather than keep to fight a war that cannot be won, the United States should beat a strategic retreat -- and examine a true victory elsewhere, looking to actually solve the problem by acknowledging the medical and mental 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 distributive and profitable black m arket controlled by criminals, who pocket the cash while 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 adulterate/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