By Ben Roberts
*Ben Roberts is a first-year college student at Springfield College. He has seen firsthand the
struggles of addiction in others. His goals for the future are to help others in the way they
require it and to leave the world a better place than he found it.*
The Answer to the War on Drugs: Peace
If you or someone you know struggles or has struggled with addiction, then you probably know how hard it is to get clean. Between the withdrawal effects, the overbearing judgment from society, and the fear of getting arrested for battling with the sickness that is addiction, getting clean may feel like a Sisyphean task, especially if you have experienced a relapse before.
However, if I may, I would like to suggest a possible solution, an insane one at that, but still a solution, legalizing hard drugs. Now, this may seem straight-up outrageous. Still, I believe that if we were to legalize hard drugs over the course of a few years, then we could turn our focus from punishing addicts and forcing sobriety on them, and turn it more towards helping and caring for them so they can choose sobriety for themselves. With this change, we expect to see three significant results.
However, these changes won’t be easy to make. It will take time and money — a lot. But if we are successful in these changes, we could make the world a better, healthier place for everyone.
The first positive result of drug legalization would be lower crime rates. The three most common reasons behind a drug addicts arrest are drug possession, burglaries, and assault/aggression. If drug laws were lifted then drug possession would no longer be an issue, due to the nature of the crime. Burglaries may still be an issue, but less so, because the majority of the burglaries committed by addicts are due to the lack of funds to pay for their drugs.
However, if drugs were to be legal, then they would be easier and cheaper to access, lowering the need to steal from others. Lastly, assault would mainly be dealt with at the SSPs and addiction treatment programs. Through drug legalization, these crime rates would decrease noticeably. Also, it could deter people from drug dealers as it would make sense that people would go toward a safer way of getting their fix rather than meeting up with a sketchy stranger who might not even give them what they’re looking for.
The second positive result is increasing the number of safe spaces for addicts nationwide. Almost everyone who has been an addict or known someone who is, has said that addicts only get clean when they’re ready. But addicts don’t always live long enough to make that decision due to an overdose.
Syringe Service Programs are programs that offer addicts a place where they can receive clean needles, safe drugs and at-the-ready medical attention. These programs help teach people how to prevent and respond to overdoses through training and, according to the CDC, have lowered the use of dirty needles in the areas around the SSPs. They are also associated with an estimated 50% reduction in HIV and HCV infections. If drugs were legalized nationwide, then we could institute SSPs in states where they are currently banned and create a better network of care.
The third positive result of drug legalization would be billions of dollars being saved. But how, you may ask? The U.S. Department of Justice itself has said that the government “spends about $100 billion yearly on law enforcement and criminal justice programs that combat the drug problem.”
So what would happen to that money if drugs were legal? I would suggest that the money go toward SSPs and similar programs that help addicts rather than punish them. Now, I’m not saying that the crime rate would be solved overnight or that it would immediately save money, but over a few years, building more safe spaces and increasing the rate at which people get clean would decrease the need for drug-related law enforcement. It would also free up some money from the law enforcement budget, which could be allocated elsewhere.
In the end, all that matters is that addicts shouldn’t be seen as criminals or monsters. They are real people who are struggling. They, too, require love, compassion, and care, just like the rest of us. So why not try to help them instead of hate them?
Photo courtesy of Ben Roberts