Introduction

Drugs have invaded all parts of our society. Drugs have become a part of our society since 1960. Around states in the US have step forward and made efforts to legalize pot for the adults. Right now, 68 million people are living in such areas where marijuana is legalized and it is being treated like tobacco and alcohol (Lynch & Mona, 2012). After the sale of this drug in the stores of eight states of United States, millions of dollars of tax has been generated from its sale and a lot of businessmen are making profits in this industry. Decades ago, marijuana was either seen as dangerous gateway drug or a hippie accessory but after its legalization, its sale is rapidly increasing. The popularity of this drug ca be assessed by the report which shows that in 2015, total revenue generated by the sale of pot was much more than the combined revenue of Girl Scout Cookies, Dasani Bottled Water and Oreos(Lynch & Mona, 2012).

What are the reasons behind this? How did marijuana’s sale increased by this fraction? A recent poll says that 60% of the total population in the United States is in the favor that government should legalize marijuana (Hughes & Elizabeth, 2010)

Discussion

Millions of people in US, at some stage of their life have used illegal drugs, majority of them is adults. If that person is your friend, loved one or family member, how would you feel if they get arrested and penalized for jailed life?

Decriminalization of drugs is often reffered to end penalties for the possession of drugs, specifically, for small amount of drug possession which is giving no harm to the society infact it is only for personal use. Here are some reasons that why we need to decriminalize the drugs:

1. Decriminalization benefits public healh and safety

An extensive research shows that reducing or eliminating penalties for the drugs possession has always reduced its addiction, HIV/AIDS and deaths due to overdosage. People need medical advice and assistance in order to get rid from drugs. If we legalize it, people who are not coming out now will definitely come out from the shadows to get help.

1. Drug possession penalties cause mass imprisonment

Communities and families are directly get hurt by the criminal use of drugs. It up brings inequality in the society and takes back the of right of supporting their families from millions of people. Unfair implementation of laws of durg possession are giving rise to the ethnic and racial disparities all over the Unisted States. It is also causing mass deportation and detentions even for the legal permanent citizens, who are residing in the US for decades.

1. Decriminalization is a huge success in many countries

Many countries have eliminated durg possession penalties while few states of the US have reduced the penalties but only for the small possession of pot. Many countries are successfully experiencing the decriminalitzation of the drugs particularly Portugal. The day Portugal decriminalized small amount of drug possession, majority of the people are facing medical treatments. HIV/AIDS and deaths due to overdose of durg has decreased drastically (Greenwald,2009).

1. All leading groups are supporting drug decriminalization

The citizens of the United States, human right groups, leading public health and medical organizations are supporting decriminalization of drugs. In September 2017, World Health Organiztion and United Nations joined hands for the decriminalization of small amount of possession of drugs. A joint statement came from these two leading groups for the abolition of laws due to which drug possession and drug usage is a criminalized act.

Conclusions

Decriminalization of possession of small amount of drugs and for the usage of drugs has made many positive impacts on the countries in which their respective governments either eliminated or reduced the penalties. Deciminalization helps to reduce HIV/AIDS and help people to start taking medical treatment to coup with this addicition.

Works Cited

Greenwald, Glenn. “Drug decriminalization in Portugal: lessons for creating fair and successful drug policies.” (2009).

Hughes, Caitlin Elizabeth, and Alex Stevens. “What can we learn from the Portuguese decriminalization of illicit drugs?.” The British Journal of Criminology 50.6 (2010): 999-1022.

Lynch, Mona. “Theorizing the role of the ‘war on drugs’ in US punishment.” Theoretical Criminology 16.2 (2012): 175-199.