In our country, just like any other country drugs and prostitution are serious problems. The money made off these two things fuel every gang and criminal organization out there. The smuggling and sale of cocaine alone in the U.S is estimated to be a 35 billion dollar industry. That’s 35 billion dollars to fuel violent criminal organizations, enough to provide them with guns and the motivation to keep doing what they do. The same thing goes for prostitution. Prostitution has existed all throughout history, and it shows no sign of ending any time soon. To many of the women involved, it is a bleak existence of never ending pain and suffering.
What would happen if drugs and prostitution were make legal? Step back and take a close look at the idea. If these industries were legalized, that means they would be much more closely monitored. Thinking carefully on the subject, I feel there are as many arguments to legalize these substances as there are to keep them illegal.
Take for example alcohol. Not too many years ago, alcohol became as illegal as meth, prostitution, and heroin. However making it illegal didn’t stop people from drinking. Drinking became and underground affair, and the gangsters supplying it became increasingly rich and powerful. When drinking was made legal again, these organizations all but vanished.
Is alcohol so much different than marijuana? Except for the fact that one is legal and the other isn’t, their very much alike. Marijuana even has an upside that alcohol doesn’t; it can be used to medicinal reasons, to help aide people suffering from the effects of cancer treatments. When used marijuana gives one a feeling of euphoria, not unlike alcohol. The likelihood of getting addicted to marijuana is lower that the likelihood of getting addicted to alcohol. If used too much for too long it can lead to delusions, lung cancer, and brain damage. Is that different than alcohol abuse which can lead to brain and liver damage?
The fact that most illegal drugs are bad for us cant be a reason their illegal either. If that were the case, then shouldn’t cigarettes be illegal as well? Cigarettes cause cancer. That fact is undeniable. So if the effects drugs have on our bodies is the reason their illegal, then shouldn’t cigarettes be illegal too?
Then there’s the issue of prostitution. Here in America we are free to do with our bodies as we please. If we want a tattoo or a piercing, we have every right to get one. If someone wants to be a slut and sleep with every person they can, they have every right to do so. So if the men and women involved in prostitution are freely consenting to what they do, shouldn’t it be their choice to make? Then there’s the issue of the people who are not willingly in the trade. Despite Americas laws against slavery, there are women, and children who are brought in from other countries and forced into prostitution. They are slaves, forced to the most vile and degrading type of work. The worst part is all too often, when these poor souls are caught their treated like criminals.
When I first entered high school, I was amazed at how easy it was to come by every drug out there. In fact, I could say it would be easier to me to get a hold of ecstasy then it would be to get a hold of alcohol.
Try as our police and government forces might, drugs and prostitution are not going away. Despite every effort they make, these things are still all to available to everyone. If they were to be legalized, think how all that would change. Prostitution would be made as safe as possible for those involved, the same way the porn industry is. Drugs would be regulated. This would take away billions and billions of dollars from criminal organizations. Although this is something that is never likely to happen, its an interesting concept to consider.
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