November 15, 2020 by: Jack Alberts
In the age of coronavirus, the decriminalization of drugs has become increasingly popular. Prisons have become a hotspot for the spread of Covid-19, and as a result many non-violent inmates have been released nationwide in efforts to reduce the spread, and prevent overflow; a large percentage of them being criminals charged with drug-related offenses .
Rather than doing a blog post on my main point of interest which is Hallucinogens, I’ve decided to broaden the topic, because the decriminalization, and even legalization psychedelic compounds has gained an overwhelming majority of support. I struggled to find a single article advocating to keep psychedelic substances illegal. Major studies from prestigious clinics have consistently proven that psychedelic drugs are not only safe, but extremely effective in treating depression, anxiety, addiction, and more psychological and physiological disorders. While there is a general consensus regarding the hallucinogen class of drugs, the primary discourse revolves around hard drugs like opioids and stimulants.
The age old debate over drug usage and regulation is concerned with multiple underlying questions: Does sovereignty derived by the people extend to freedom of drug use? Are we truly free while the government dictates what we can put in our bodies? Why are there extreme consequences for growing something that comes from nature? The government can pick and choose when “my body my choice” applies? Theodore Dalrymple sums up the basic philosophical argument which argues “that, in a free society, adults should be permitted to do whatever they please, always provided that they are prepared to take the consequences of their own choices and that they cause no direct harm to others”. As reasonable as this may sound, many people believe that drug usage is not merely a matter of individualism and personal responsibility– addiction and drug usage have been heavily linked to crime. With drugs legally on the streets, people are more inclined to start taking these drugs, as the risk they incur is not as high. However, the issue of crime and usage does not have a linear relationship with scarcity. Are people more likely to seek help if these drugs are decriminalized? Does usage decline? Crime and the safety of all people are issues that we should all be concerned with, and encourage us all to come up with the best solution for the well being of our nation.
Recently, the ongoing debate gained prominence after the people of Oregon voted to decriminalize all drugs. The proposition passed by a landslide, demonstrating the dissatisfaction with the current regulatory and legal system. The new measure in Oregon will be the test to reduce speculation and determine unanswered questions and proposals about how the public would respond to their increased of freedom. With the decriminalization of drugs, naturally, the crime rates will go down. Gangs and drug dealers will no longer enjoy a monopoly on drug sales; consequently, the substances themselves will become much safer, and the means by which they are attained will be less dangerous. Though you might think lifted restrictions would undoubtedly cause users and addicts to run rampant, studies show that it actually might have the opposite effect– and Portugal serves as the embodiment of that predicted truth. After Portugal’s 2001 possession decriminalization, statistics have proven that not only did drug usage not increase, but it has actually been gradually declining. Perhaps most notable, harm and death consequences reached an all time low for the nation shortly after the lifted restrictions. Portugal is not the only nation to have taken this major leap for society– Czechia, Netherlands, and Switzerland are among the more than two dozen countries to take action thus far. Given the abundance of promising statistics and data, you might be thinking, what is up with America? Why has it taken us this long for even a single state to run this tested social experiment which has proven consistently to be effective in reducing crime, usage, and more? This is where the debate becomes even more nuanced: is negative reinforcement effective in stopping drug usage? Drug sales? Is negative reinforcement effective in general? Adversaries to decriminalization claim that punishment, education, and limiting availability are key to preventing all drug related problems. Joseph A. Califano, Jr. of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University is convinced that drug laws should remain intact. Califano represents the conservative masses in arguing that decriminalization would increase availability, lower price, and therefore promote usage in adults and minors. He claims that “a child who reaches age 21 without smoking, misusing alcohol, or using illegal drugs is virtually certain to never do so.” In this fairly objective claim, Califano presents another argument to the table: does criminalization of drugs make minors any less inclined to use them? Could it perhaps have the opposite effect? When parents restrict their kids from eating sugar, or leaving the house past curfew, does it make the kid want to do it even more for the sake of rebelling authority? The National Criminal Justice Reference Service points out that people who want to get high on drugs are already getting high on drugs regardless of any laws. Considering the former claim, decriminalization could potentially make the actual substances significantly safer, not to mention less desirable. In addition, drug decriminalization would increase property value nationwide, save billions of dollars spent on drug enforcement annually, and incredibly, would cut approximately one-third of the prison population.
With minimal trial to reference, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions; however, as previously mentioned, countries like Switzerland, Portugal, and the Netherlands have taken steps closer to decriminalization… and the results are not all positive. Following decriminalization in parts of Switzerland, hotspots for overdose, HIV infection, and usage ensued. The famous Platzspitz park in Zurich, became so heavily littered with drugs, needles, and everything in between that it was coined “Needle Park”. One of the most beautiful parks in the nation’s capital turned into a haven for addicts to shoot up with the comfort of amnesty. In one observant’s words, “it was the equivalent of people dying on the White House lawn…“.
Eager participants in the widespread discussion will be holding their breathe in the coming weeks in anticipation of the recent Oregon legislation; naturally, some form of results will be disclosed very soon.
References:
Dalrymple, Theodore, et al. “Don’t Legalize Drugs.” City Journal, 17 June 2019, http://www.city- journal.org/html/don%E2%80%99t-legalize-drugs-11758.html.
Lopez, German. “I Used to Support Legalizing All Drugs. Then the Opioid Epidemic Happened.” Vox, Vox, 20 Apr. 2017, http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/20/15328384/opioid-epidemic-drug-legalization.
Davies, Jag. “4 Reasons Why The U.S. Needs to Decriminalize Drugs – And Why We’re Closer Than You Think.” Drug Policy Alliance, 9 July 2017, http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/4-reasons-why-us-needs-decriminalize-drugs-and-why-were-closer-you-think.
Schumaker, Erin. “Decriminalizing Drugs in Oregon a ‘Victory for Common Sense and for Science’.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 5 Nov. 2020, abcnews.go.com/Health/decriminalizing-drugs-oregon-victory-common-sense-science/story?id=74022502.
Kvam, Tor-Morten, et al. “Psychedelic Drugs in the Treatment of Anxiety, Depression and Addiction.” Tidsskrift for Den Norske Legeforening, 13 Nov. 2018, tidsskriftet.no/en/2018/11/oversiktsartikkel/psychedelic-drugs-treatment-anxiety-depression-and-addiction.
Selsky, Andrew. “Oregon Leads the Way in Decriminalizing Hard Drugs.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 4 Nov. 2020, apnews.com/article/oregon-first-decriminalizing-hard-drugs-01edca37c776c9ea8bfd4afdd7a7a33e.
Unknown. “Drug Policy of Portugal.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_Portugal.
Ferreira, Susana. “Portugal’s Radical Drugs Policy Is Working. Why Hasn’t the World Copied It?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 5 Dec. 2017, http://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it.
Califano, Joseph A. “Should Drugs Be Decriminalised? No.” BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), BMJ Publishing Group Ltd., 10 Nov. 2007, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2071997/.
Duke, S B, and A C Gross. “PUBLICATIONS.” NCJRS Abstract – National Criminal Justice Reference Service, 1996, http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=160034.
Cosner Rhetoric 