DRUG USE IN THE USA - A LICIT OR ILLICIT ESCAPE?

I spent last week in a haze of drugs. Not a drug-induced haze, mind you! I
spent substantial time discussing my admittedly unsubstantiated position on
the third proposed Iowa City Charter Amendment (affectionately nicknamed
the "catch-and-release program for hippies"). After listening to
convincing, fiscally responsible arguments posed by several acquaintances
in support of the amendment, I began to mull the implications of repealing
government intervention in both legitimate and illegitimate drug businesses.

I consulted several users (peers), a pharmacist, and a drug dealer. I
became privy to a lexicon of drug terminology, various methods of getting
high, and the entrepreneurial lure of dealing. I appreciated many of the
fiscal arguments, being a libertine-leaning capitalist cheerleader.
However, based on the moral ramifications and the tears drugs make in the
fabric of American society, I cannot fully agree with my tutors' arguments.

The pharmacist (a libertarian) believes that government regulation of the
pharmaceutical industry is unfair to commerce. The profession benefits from
a government-imposed monopoly. Pharmacists are the only ones who can
legally sell otherwise illegal drugs. The profession creates a markup, and
drug prices are astronomical, despite the lack of a corollary demand.

If the pharmaceutical industry were deregulated, prices would drop.
Democrats wouldn't be able to scare the geriatric into voting for them
based prescription-drug issues. However, anyone could set up a "pharmacy"
- -- scary thought. Government has its place in consumer protectionism.

Really, a pharmacist is simply selling a drug that someone else prescribed.
It is just as irresponsible to sell drugs without a license as it is to
write (or self-administer) a prescription hastily dispatched to cover the
aches and pains of real life.

Prescription drugs are as much a way to escape reality as their illegal
counterparts. Unless there is a real chemical imbalance warranting the use
of prescription drugs, people should look into holistic methods of
treatment or make the necessary lifestyle changes to deal with reality. We
are a Prozac nation only because of neglect and the medical profession
preying on the American consumer's need for a quick fix. And for the
record, I'd like to add that I'm really disgusted by the images that Viagra
ads conjure up.

Decriminalization of illegal drugs would also benefit tax-paying consumers.
We would no longer be waging a corrupt, ineffectual war on drugs. If
legitimized, dealers would pay their fair share of taxes. Currently,
dealers aren't liable for their product. Drug consumers would have rights
and could take legal action against products laced with anything from B-12
to baking soda.

Drug users are typically not hurting anyone but themselves. Taking drugs is
exercising free will. Users claim they just want to use in peace. They feel
they are not hurting anyone and should be left to their own natural
progression of decadence. Is it our responsibility as a country to prevent
people from pursuing happiness in a vial or pipe?

The argument against decriminalization is that it is society's
responsibility to protect innocent bystanders -- namely children -- from
random drug-induced crimes.

I grew up influenced by Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" sloganeering and do
not recommend the use of any drugs that are currently illegal.

I'll digress a moment to avoid hypocrisy. I'm also trying hard to
circumvent my talent of putting my foot in my mouth. A gag reflex prevents
me from actually getting my lips around my size 8-Enzo-clad tootsie, but my
Yoga lessons sure are paying off. I have not made the claim that I have
never used drugs. I am a social drinker. I take an occasional hit off a
friend's cigarette. I curse the Red Bull people daily for my Taurine
dependency.

I can't fully agree with the libertine arguments and endorse the use of the
drugs that are currently illegal because I can't think of valid reasons for
their incorporation in someone's life. Drugs help people escape reality.
Though life may be hard sometimes, I would rather be awake than have the
personality of a cucumber. Drugs make people stupid. I know so many people
who daily hamper their potential, tarnishing their brilliance as they cloud
their mind with drugs. Drugs may not kill irreplaceable brain cells, but
they do make you less ambitious, lower inhibitions, and provide a gateway
to a life that's less actualized.

I'm all for the freedoms of commerce, but I am more for the freedoms of a
safe, responsible, clear-minded America.