Question

Should certain categories of drugs be decriminalized? What might the impact be – in the short- and long-term?

Answer 1

I have listed both sides i.e. Pros and cons of decriminalizing categories of drugs and its impact.

Pros: If drugs were decriminalized, then it would be sold in pharmacies with the best quality which will lead to increase in revenue of the country thus contributing to the GDP. Since the drugs will be sold in pharmacies, there would be quality check done to ensure that the drugs are pure in nature and not mixed with ingredients that are hazardous for human consumption. Thus death caused by consuming impure drugs would be reduced drastically. Since the drugs are sold legally, it would be available easily which will put an end to drug rings and drug dealers who sell drugs through illegal means and evading tax payments. It is safer for individuals to purchase drugs through legal means than through illegal channels. However, the selling of drugs should be done through the right regulatory systems.

Cons: misuse and drug abuse are the biggest cons of decriminalizing drugs which will lead to higher death rates, crime rates. Most of the drugs will be consumed for non-medical purpose which will lead to greater health issues.

However the best approach to combat this issue would neither be legalization nor decriminalization. More research should be done on prevention and treatment of drug use. There should be prevention programs held for children and young adults as well as seminars for the public on such issues in order to educate the mass about drug consumption which should be done by the social workers and public health community.