Human Health en ingles

Human health

Question: Cause and Effect: Human Health - What are the effects of government policy on illicit drug use? Justify your response using specific examples from your country and at least one other country of your choice.

There was a time when all kinds of drugs were allowed; as people came to realize the conflicts this substances produced among society, drugs were legally banned, policies and laws were created by the governments of each country in order to stop people from using them; although this measures did not stopped drug use, they had consequences all around the world and the perspective about drug use was shaped into the law. But is the impact of these policies the one that was expected when they were created, or is it time to modify laws in order to diminish the influence of drugs in our society?

Drugs in the United States have been there practically since Jamestown settlers cropped them in 1600’s (Casa Palmera 2012), however, the first drug epidemic started in the 20th century, this is when the prohibition laws against some drugs started because of the mental issues they caused and the violence they created among the lower classes in America. The second epidemic, which is more well-known and was the detonator to the creation of new and more reinforced laws against drug use, was the one that occurred in 1960’s and 1970’s, when cocaine, heroin, marijuana and crack became popular especially among the youth.  For instance, a measure taken during the 60’s and 70’s period was the “War on drugs” policy created by Nixon (Drug Enforcement Administration Museum 1995).

Drugs that are now illegal were once used purely with medical purposes. Medical use was the only one that drugs had in Mexico, and it was legal to promote products based in Opium (Lopez, 2013); prohibition of drugs in Mexico was mainly a product of the ideology promoted in the United States, this was the beginning of a series of laws and stereotypes against drugs and their users.

Due to the fact that illegal drug trading is a main cause of violence in Mexico, specific laws against illegal drugs use are required.  Laws concerning the use of drugs in Mexico were modified in August 20 of 2009, if the amount possessed is the same or below 500 milliliters of cocaine, five grams of marijuana or cannabis, 50 milliliters of heroin, it will not be considered as a crime, however, a quantity less than the product of the amount of drug multiplied per 1000 will be narcomenudeo and any higher quantity of drugs possessed would be considered as drug trading (Mejía 2013). The law also authorizes the use of these substances in Indian ceremonies, forgives medical drug abusers and focuses on the creation of rehab centers in these cases. The War on Drugs declared by Felipe Calderón during his presidential period increased the death rates from 1.300 in 2005 to 7000 in 2009 (Duff & Rygler 2011)

Though reasons that lead governments to illegalize drugs are reasonable, this had not have the desired effect on the population of  United States, Mexico, and the rest of the world; for instance, during a conference of the United Nations, the illegalization of drugs has been said to be infructuous, because the use of drugs has not stopped in mostly every country and drug addicts are in risk of death for use of adulterous drugs (The Economist 2013), this is the reason why some people believe drugs should be decriminalized.

Professor of  Harvard University, Jeffrey Miron,  stated in an interview realized by Spiegel (2013), that the prohibition of drugs is actually the worst solution for this social and health issue, because it creates a black market that costs human lives, apart from being very expensive, on the other side, only .6% of the population uses drugs and that the use of them has decreased during the past years (Costa 2010), taking this in consideration it can be assumed that if it was not for the illegalization of drugs, the actual rate of deaths caused by their use (200 000 deaths per year) would be higher.

From a neutral point of view it can be presumed that drug policies may cause corruption in the government due to drug trading cartels infiltration in national forces, it may cause violence and deaths because of the addict’s need to purchase expensive drugs and the actions he or she has to commit in order to buy them, but it may also prevent a global addiction to drugs.

It is still not completely defined if the consequences of Drug Policies are favorable or not, because while some people believe that the best solution is to keep them forbidden, others believe that the only solution to the rage of violence created by international or local drug dealing is to legalize drugs, because this way, addicts will not commit violent acts as the drugs will be more affordable.

...