Mind-Altering Substances
Drugs have been around since the beginning of time. Even prior to making them illegal, opioids, marijuana and cocaine were being used for their medicinal and euphoric effects. People died back then and continue to die today. People are turning into addicts faster than the U.S. congress coming to an agreement on an important bill.
This begs the question, “does keeping drugs illegal help the population in any meaningful way?” There is a large consensus that the war on drugs has been a failure: addicts continue to rise, drugs continue to flood our streets and potency is only increasing.
Is anyone benefiting from keeping drugs illegal? Criminals are being placed in prison while addicts drop out of rehabs and continue abusing drugs and spreading HIV and hepatitis C. In San Francisco, the city is swarming with homeless people; stories reek of homeless people breaking into stores and defecating on the streets.
Is this a by-product of keeping drugs illegal? Advocates of drug legalization argue that all drugs should be legalized and regulated by the governments, just like tobacco and alcohol. This would prevent the black market from flourishing and would make certain that people would be getting pure products and clean needles.
Opponents of drug legalization argue that legalizing drugs is just promoting its use and would expose people who hadn’t previously used them. Many people don’t use illicit drugs because of their legality. But if a perfectly legal “Coca Bar” pops up in Chelsea New York, would non-users suddenly try the drug out of curiosity?
Marijuana is the latest drug that is being slowly introduced to the masses in a regulated and controlled manner. As more states and countries around the world continue to legalize marijuana, society will slowly find out in the near future whether legalization works.
But no matter the legality of a drug, your mental, physical and spiritual health always come first!
Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)
DSM (Defeating Stigma Mindfully) 