What comes to mind when you think of ending the war on drugs? Most people think about the “pot smokers” and the medical benefits. It’s not too often you hear about people advocating for the legalization of ALL DRUGS.
Well, I am that guy. Heroin ruined my life, as did marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, and prescription pills. For an addict like me, all drugs are a problem. I can’t get high or drunk without spiraling out of control.
I am 25 years old, and have been tied up in the legal system since 2009. I have spent a total of 3.5 years in prison, for victimless crimes. I have seen first-hand the damage that the drug war has caused. So many friends have died, so many more in prison, and not to mention those who need help, but are afraid to ask out of fear of prosecution.
Heroin is dangerous, but the inconsistency in purity is the main reason for overdoses. In truth there is no such thing as “good dope” or “bad dope” there is just “dope” and whatever it’s cut with. Users often search for the best quality based off word of mouth, and it’s not uncommon for ODs to happen because they either end up with a product way more potent than their tolerance can handle, or something cut with some random Fentanyl analog that can be bought online for next to nothing. These deaths are blamed on heroin. But is that accurate?
If heroin was available for purchase through reputable businesses and was a consistent purity, with no adulterants, would these deaths happen? Some, but not as many.
To make matters worse, some areas now charge the person who supplied the victim of the overdose with murder, which would be fair… except that it’s usually another heroin addict who supplied the drug, and just like the victim, they also did not know the purity or what other substances that heroin was cut with. There goes two lives taken by the Drug War. The accountability for deaths caused by heroin overdoses should not fall on those who are addicted to heroin. It should fall on the government for creating a black market that cannot be controlled. We have created a system that can make people afraid to report overdoses.
Virtually all respected medical authorities call addiction a disease, yet we send addicts to prison with violent offenders. How is this okay? When an addict is arrested for a violent crime, or for theft, or for any crime that actually has a victim, it makes sense to involve the law. But using drugs hurts no one but the user. In some states possession of drugs itself is a felony. Prisons are filled with thousands of Americans whose only crime was simple possession and violating probation or parole by using drugs.
You can argue that addicts hurt their families by being preoccupied with using, or neglecting their family and social obligations. That’s not a criminal issue. You can argue that drug addict are more likely to commit a crime, but is it fair to punish them for something that MIGHT happen?
The rise of Research Chemicals vendors
When Heroin was banned in 1924, it created a demand for new opioid painkillers. By the 1950s, Fentanyl, Oxycodone, and Hydromorphone had become popular replacements. They are still used to this day and while Heroin is banned, these drugs remain available through pain management clinics and on the black market. They are more expensive, and more socially acceptable, and because they are “medications” people often don’t view them in the same light. Heroin is “taboo”, even though other opioids are just as harmful.
Today new drugs are created in foreign and domestic labs, and sold as “not intended for human consumption” products, or as research chemicals. This constant attempt to circumvent the law is killing people all the time. Look at a-PvP, U-47700, Hexadrone, Methylone, or the various Fentanyl analogs sweeping the nation. In an effort to protect drug users from a “disease” we are putting the manufacturing of drugs in the hands of people with only one consideration. MONEY.
Vendors selling these new drugs have no liability. The only thing holding them accountable is forums like Reddit.com and other outlets that drug users can use to communicate with each other. When a chemical is scheduled, they simply create a new analog of that chemical. No testing is done to ensure safety, and long term effects are unknown. These drugs would never have been created if not for the laws that create the market for them. Even more surprisingly, is the effectiveness of reddit as a way to show the free market can keep vendors honest. Bad reviews on reddit often lead to changes in how these vendors operate the business. Imagine if we took away the need for newer and less studies recreational drugs, and allowed the free market to keep reputable companies honest and producing a reliable (and therefore safer) product.
The real solution
Drug addiction is a disease. The only disease that is illegal to have. With millions of people in prisons or dying every year, and the problem only getting worse, why not make all drugs legal?
- Mass legalization of drugs, and allowing companies to compete over who has the safest, and most reliable chemicals will greatly reduce the deaths caused by drug use.
- Less people will be afraid to get help, out of fear of prosecution.
- Less lives will be spent in prison for drug use. This means less people with a criminal record preventing them from getting a decent job.
- Police will be able to focus on crimes that affect others. Less money spent on the arrest and housing of non-violent criminals.
- The sale of drugs can be done in a manner that makes it harder for kids to get them. An easy example is Cannabis and how as a black market commodity it is often easier for minors to obtain than alcohol.Even heroin and cocaine are being sold in schools.
- More research can be done on drugs that may have medical uses, without requiring special permission from the DEA.
People will always use drugs. It’s a fact. The best thing we can do to help them is to minimize the harm, and increase the amount of help for addicts that is available. We should be making a commitment to all of those affected by the disease of addiction to end the persecution, and stop this war that has raged on against addicts for decades. Let’s remove the stigma and create a nation that allows addicts to get help.
* Matthew Murphy simply wants the government to leave him alone.
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