Legalization of Controlled Substances: Pros and Cons

Legalization of Controlled Substances: Pros and Cons

In many countries across the globe, the use and production of the drugs and their potential legalization has been a controversial matter in discussion. Inc countries like United Kingdom and United States the various substances that are commonly consumed, including cigarettes and alcohol, have been considered to be legal for the consumers when they reach a particular age limit. Then, many other drugs such as Valium and Ritalin, are also legal but only after the doctor's prescription. While, on the other hand, the utilization of cocaine is permitted only when there is a medical need in regards to any type of medical operations, however, it may not be used as a recreational drug. This paper deals with the issue of legalizing the controlled substances and elaborates upon the pros and cons of such legalization.

Controlled Substances

A controlled substance usually pertains to a chemical or drugs the possession, manufacturing and utilization of which is generally controlled and monitored by the government within a country. The general availability of these drugs is confined and they are strictly outlawed by the government due to their potential utilization for the purpose of addiction or abuse. These substances are therefore kept under strict legislative control and comprise of the illegal prescription medications and drugs classified as stimulants, narcotics, hallucinogens, depressants and cannabis (Webster, 2009).

When the substances are traded illegally, they are known as dope or drugs and may be of many types. The controlled substances that are commonly known amongst the people include hashish, marijuana, and hashish oil. Some of such drugs are generally smoked and are intoxicant, having no particular hallucinogenic or psychoactive effects. Thus, it is clear that the controlled substances are actually drug that are declared as illegal for usage or sale by the state or federal law of a country and they may be dispensed only after the prescription by a physician. The grounds for the regulating and controlling these drugs include the threats and consequences of abuse, addiction, mental and physical harm (such as death), the dangers from actions of those who have used the substances, or the illegal trafficking of the drugs.

In order to control the usage, many states across the world have introduced various laws and acts. In the United States, for instance, the utilization and distribution of illegal drugs is suppressed by the DEA that implements the Controlled Substances Act. In many countries, some original chemicals that are utilized for producing the illegal drugs have also been considered as controlled substances, despite the fact that they lack the pharmacological effects of the drugs themselves. The substances are usually categorized as controlled with respect to their schedules and fundamentally comprise of the potentially psychoactive substances, and do not include antibiotics and other such items most of the times.

One of the most important matters in the currently ongoing debate of the drug legalization is the ways to compare and measure the aggregate harms and risks that are caused by ...