NO TO LEGALIZATION

This letter is in response to the letters stating that drug
legalization could be a good thing. I am not going to deny our country
has a drug problem -- we do have one, a big one. However, legalizing
drugs would not necessarily make things better.

Take a look at the past. Some countries that have legalized drugs have
not benefited at all, such as China. China legalized the use of opium
in 1858 and soon became the biggest producer of it. Many people became
addicted to it, which had many negative side effects. What if
legalizing drugs in the United States had the same effect that
legalizing opium had on China?

Drugs like marijuana are indeed addictive, and studies have shown that
in certain societies, making addictive drugs easy to get makes the
harms all the greater. Even if drugs were legalized, there is a high
chance they still would continue to be sold illegally to minors who
were unable to get the drug. Legalization of drugs would cause a rapid
increase in the use of drugs and drug abuse, which could lead to
negative social costs. Marijuana use can result in problems with
concentration, attention and short-term memory. Drugs are illegal
because of the damage they can do to the body. What if drugs were
legalized and people like the police or other trusted officers began
using them? Though there is a drug problem in our country, legalizing
drugs would not make things better. It would only make the problem
worse.

Anne Greff

Lincoln