12th November 2020, 10:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 12th November 2020, 10:51 PM by ClassyElephant. Edited 1 time in total.)
I think all drugs should be decriminalized.
I'm a psychology major, a few weeks from graduation. I've not once tried any drugs, not even marijuana, so I can't say I'm speaking from experience. But addiction is not something to criminalize. Being on a substance is considered to be a mental disorder, as it *literally* changes your brain's functioning (depending on the drug).
We can't just assume every one makes the conscious choice one day to get hooked on drug. A majority of drug-related issues are due to upbringing, poverty, and other things that an individual is born into and does not have control over, more or less. We often look towards the example of people throwing their lives away and say "see, don't be like them. criminalize drugs" without understanding that no one *wants* to throw their lives away over their drug addiction. It's an itch that they have to scratch, not a game that they want to play. Humans who have addictions are enslaved to that addiction, and breaking such an addiction takes time, rehabilitation, and support.
Criminalizing drug users and putting them in prison for possession or use of drugs only perpetuates this issue in communities where it is a prevalent issue. I can get into deeper systemic issues, but thats not the purpose of this thread. The point I'm trying to make is, drug users are not inherently evil. They're not bad people for having an addiction. They need treatment, not punishment.
I've written several research papers on this subject. This is just a lil bit of my $0.02.
I'm a psychology major, a few weeks from graduation. I've not once tried any drugs, not even marijuana, so I can't say I'm speaking from experience. But addiction is not something to criminalize. Being on a substance is considered to be a mental disorder, as it *literally* changes your brain's functioning (depending on the drug).
We can't just assume every one makes the conscious choice one day to get hooked on drug. A majority of drug-related issues are due to upbringing, poverty, and other things that an individual is born into and does not have control over, more or less. We often look towards the example of people throwing their lives away and say "see, don't be like them. criminalize drugs" without understanding that no one *wants* to throw their lives away over their drug addiction. It's an itch that they have to scratch, not a game that they want to play. Humans who have addictions are enslaved to that addiction, and breaking such an addiction takes time, rehabilitation, and support.
Criminalizing drug users and putting them in prison for possession or use of drugs only perpetuates this issue in communities where it is a prevalent issue. I can get into deeper systemic issues, but thats not the purpose of this thread. The point I'm trying to make is, drug users are not inherently evil. They're not bad people for having an addiction. They need treatment, not punishment.
I've written several research papers on this subject. This is just a lil bit of my $0.02.