Issue On Drug Policy

The federal government authority to regulate illicit drug supercedes state legislation which  legalizes the use of Marijuana for medicinal  purposes was held by the U.S supreme court in June, 2005. Our present drug laws were first enacted at the beginning of the century. At that time use of narcotics wasn't a major social issue. The first criminal laws were enacted which were addressed opium products and cocain. There was no criminal legislation for the use of marijuana until 1937. The use of alchol was a major social issue in the U.S in the early 20th century. Heroin was also big because of its high price and uncertain purity, it was associated with crime and frequent overdoses. The war on drugs was launched by President Reagan in 1982. Under the direction of the President a national office was created to coordinate efforts to address the illegal drug problem. The trend applies greater fiscal resources toward stricter drug enforcement aimed at stopping importation and sale of drugs. The commonly used recreational drugs (heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana) are for the most part banned worldwide and have been throughout the past century. Historically, the widespread recreational use of drugs such as marijuana has been limited to only a few countries, including the United States. But Europe, Asia and Africa have been quickly catching up.  Marijuana use has stabilized in the U.S. and Europe but is on the increase in the third world. There are many proposals for changing the Drug Policy. Some proposals are legalization of all drugs, the arguments for this proposal is that if these drugs were legalized and regulated there would be a problem of drug abuse and adressed as a medical problem. The 2008 Democratic platform makes only passing reference to the drug problem by urging expanded use of drug courts and rehabilitation programs. The 2008 Republican Party Platform continues to advocate an aggressive anti-drug campaign which includes improved treatment programs and other innovative approaches.



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