Criminal Justice - Drugs & Term Paper

Total Length: 530 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

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In many respects, contemporary legislation of illicit narcotics is analogous to alcohol prohibition in that the illegal status of narcotics provides a vacuum filled all too eagerly by criminal enterprises. In principle, narcotics could be regulated, taxed, and controlled by government authorities in exactly the same manner as alcohol and tobacco.

Instead, current U.S. law invests billions of dollars annually attempting to prevent and prosecute illicit drug use and sales.

Conclusion:

Undoubtedly, illegal drug use in the U.S. is associated with a significant amount of crime including very serious crimes. However, much of the crime generated by illicit narcotics legislation prohibiting their unauthorized use. Just as Prohibition-era alcohol legislation presented an opportunity for criminal enterprises to profit by filling a need through an illicit black market, contemporary drug laws provide the identical opportunity in the case of illicit drug trade and distribution.


According to many critics of the position of U.S. authorities on narcotic use, the War on Drugs is a great waste of public funds and law enforcement resources. That view supports enforcing any crimes associated with drug use (including such crimes as driving under their influence), but otherwise, objects to criminalizing strictly private use that does not pose any danger to others. Ultimately, that position is more consistent with constitutional concepts like personal privacy and due process and the decriminalization of narcotics would be more likely to reduce crime, but only because current restriction are conducive to crimes associated with the illicit black market rather than to anything directly inherent in drug use......

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https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/criminal-justice-drugs-29560