All drugs should be legalized. No matter what type of drug it is, a person should be able to walk into a pharmacy and buy it over the counter. There are many reasons drugs should be legalized.

The first and foremost reason for legalization of drugs is freedom of the citizens of a country. If I am not allowed to ingest whatever I want, no matter its effect on my body, my freedom has been infringed upon. It is unreasonable to ban drugs such as cannabis and heroin. If a person wants to make modify the way they feel, why should they be stopped from doing so? It doesn’t matter whether or not the drug is addictive, or if the drug will kill you if you use it once. It is a citizen’s personal choice to ingest whatever substances they want to.

I don’t know what kind of crazy world we live in today if alcohol and cigarettes are completely legal for adults, but other “recreational” drugs are illegal. Alcohol has a much worse effect on the user’s body, and is more addictive than cannabis, but it is legal. I don’t see the logic in that decision made by the government. The arguments that I hear all day are, “But drugs are (addictive|dangerous) and that is why they are illegal!” Newsflash, alcohol is addictive and dangerous, and it is legal. So aren’t cigarettes. Another argument I hear a lot is “Drugs make people do bad things.” Ok, that person who broke the reasonable part of the law while using drugs can be charged the same as a sober person breaking the law. Drugs do not make people do bad things, drug abuse inclines someone to make bad choices, but it will never, ever make anyone do anything that they have not decided to do.

Drugs, just like what food you eat, can severely impact your life. But if the whether the impact is good or bad is left up to the responsible drug user to decide. If the government banned foods that had a high fat content because they are bad for you and can be psychologically addictive, I am sure the majority of Americans would be upset. Drugs are no different than fatty foods.

One more reason drugs need to be legalized is the financial cost of drug prohibition. Billions are spent every year arresting harmless junkies and stoners for ingesting something that they chose to ingest, who were not harming anyone. The cost of arresting so many people is extreme. Larger police forces, more prisons, more federal spending on anti-drug advertisement. Those are just some of the places a large percentage of your tax dollars go every year. That money could be used for the education system, free healthcare, or any other number of places that need federal funding.

I hope after reading this people are persuaded to support drug legalization, but if not, to each his own.