Introduction

“How the fentanyl crisis’ fourth wave has hit every corner of the US,” decorated the headlines of BBC News on the 17th of September 2023. Illegal drug usage in America has been growing higher than ever in recent years, resulting in a massive increase in the number of deaths caused by drug overdose. For instance, fentanyl’s overdose death rate has increased dramatically from 0.3 per 100,000 people in 1990 to 17.8 per 100,000 people in 2020, an approximate increase of 5,833% (Hannah et al., 2022). Additionally, the prevalence of illegal dealing of drugs unknowingly adulterated with other substances has increased the overall risks of overdose and death (Greenhouse Editorial Staff, & Thomas, S., 2024). Several government administrations of the past few decades have attempted to strengthen legal restrictions on drugs. However, these measures have not shown much significant effect in the reduction of drug use and drug-related criminal activity (Leo et al., 2017). If creating more laws to stop drug abuse has historically had a limited impact, why not try an alternative approach?

One alternative perspective suggests that drug legalization, seemingly counterintuitive, could address the rampant drug problem by providing a path to regulate the distribution, quality, and use of these addictive substances. This idea is not without merit. Past examples of legalizing recreational marijuana and acetaminophen in America show that legalization can lead to positive results. After all, the illegality of drugs has not stopped them from being sold and used all over the country. Drug legalization would help mitigate the damage caused by drug use by exerting some measure of restriction and safety guidance. However, policy proposals for the legalization of drugs are met with strong opposition. Those who reject the legalization proposal cite their concern that legalization would increase access to drugs, which would further lead to higher rates of drug abuse and overdose (Lopez, 2022).

In regard to this debate on the feasibility of drug legalization, I argue that legalizing drugs would have a more positive than negative effect on society. I examine two main aspects of this positive effect: how it makes society more just and more healthy. In the context of this paper, I define “just” as “acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good” and “healthy” as “showing physical, mental, or emotional well-being” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Thus, a just and healthier society works to improve the physical and mental well-being of all those part of it, especially those who face injustice because of their socioeconomic minority background. I evaluate the positive and negative potential of drug legalization using these two standards because the drug crisis in America is most heavily involved with public health and criminal law enforcement.

 

I.Historical Background on the “War on Drugs”

The “War on Drugs,” a government initiative to eradicate drugs as a major cause of crime, began in America in June 1971. President Richard Nixon, who declared drugs to be “public enemy number one,” subsequently established drug-control agencies (e.g., the Drug Enforcement Administration or the DEA) and increased funding for drug addiction treatment efforts (Britannica, 2016). In the following years, however, the American stance on drugs shifted drastically, as marijuana possession became decriminalized in eleven states as a result of the next presidency. This shift was caused by President Jimmy Carter’s political campaign in 1977, where he deprioritized the war on drugs and reduced it to a relatively small component within the work of federal law enforcement (History.com, 2017). The tide turned once more when Ronald Reagan took over the presidency in 1981. The stricter laws and criminal punishments over drug treatment led to a massive increase in imprisonment for non-violent drug offenses (Britannica, 2016). Keeping in line with President Reagan’s anti-drug position, the U.S. Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, establishing a series of mandatory minimum prison sentences that depended on the severity of each drug offense (Britannica, 2016). However, such legislation brought with it public concerns about whether the policies were just, as the mere possession of drugs of any quantity warranted a minimum five-year sentence (Britannica, 2016). Additionally, because around 80% of all crack possession cases involved black individuals who were often from impoverished backgrounds due to institutional racism, the “War on Drugs” was suspected to be motivated by racial biases (Britannica, 2016). These suspicions grew stronger with a 1994 interview by John Ehrlichman, Richard Nixon’s former domestic policy chief (History.com, 2017). Ehrlichman suggested that the primary motive for starting the War on Drugs campaign was to help Nixon maintain his support base. He stated that “the Nixon White House after [the presidential campaign], had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people” and that those working with Nixon knew “[the administration] were lying about the drugs” (Baum, 2024).

In the 21st century, the Obama administration planned to reduce drug use and its harmful consequences with a plan called the National Drug Control Strategy (The White House (President Barack Obama), n.d.). This policy attempted to target the drug problem at the root of society by incorporating drug abuse treatments into normal health care and supporting campaigns that aimed to break the cycle of drug use, crime, and incarceration in impoverished communities of color (The White House (President Barack Obama), n.d.). Furthermore, in 2010, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act after acknowledging the unbalanced nature of the laws against varying drug offenses. This act reduced the inconsistency between the severity of drug-related crimes and the sentences given out from 1:100 to 1:18 (History.com, 2017). The following Trump administration adopted a comprehensive approach. He had the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) release the National Interdiction Command and Control Plan, which aimed to reduce illicit drugs through the use of safer prescribing practices, prescription drug monitoring, and drug take-back programs (The White House (Donald J. Trump), n.d.). In contrast, during his time in the office from 2020 to 2024, President Joe Biden attempted to redress the harm caused by the inconsistent drug laws imposed by the past American government by commuting the sentences of nearly 2500 non-violent drug offenders. He stated that the offenders were “serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice” and that he was correcting “historic wrongs” (Moench, 2025).

Hence, the unstable history of the “War on Drugs” demonstrates that the legalization of drugs is not primarily a matter of morality, but is mostly a matter of public health and political motivation. While political considerations are subject to change based on who controls the White House at a particular time, arguments about how drug legalization can affect public health and the justice system can be considered on a more objective level.

 

II.What does “Legalization of Drugs” entail?

Therefore, I will evaluate the effect that legalization or non-legalization has on society based on how each strategy will likely impact the public health and legal system. As the US has already attempted to legalize the use of marijuana, I will use the processes set forth by marijuana legalization to model a potential plan for legalizing all drugs.

First, drugs should be decriminalized, which means abolishing laws that make the mere usage, carrying, and distribution of recreational and medical drugs be considered a crime. After decriminalization comes the process of instilling regulations to prevent or mitigate the dangers of excessive drug usage.

This regulation can be achieved through the creation of state licensing requirements for the manufacture and distribution of drugs, as well as tasking regulatory agencies with quality control. License requirements will restrict the range of businesses and individuals that can legally make and sell drugs. Only those that maintain a proper degree of transparency in the process and uphold age and other conditional requirements based upon public safety will earn a state-sponsored license (Department of Cannabis Control, n.d.). Drugs should also be labelled with what they contain and their side effects. Additionally, regulatory agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can determine whether a drug’s quality is at a level that is safe for use and whether they are to be sold for medical purposes or recreational purposes (FDA, 2023). These regulations would depend heavily on state-by-state legislatures and government agencies, but a general federal guideline to make sure the laws are not too inconsistent–and thus confusing for consumers–will be helpful to establish better-regulated, structured access to drugs all around the country.

 

III.An Argument for Legalizing Drugs

The efforts of the last few decades to impose stricter restrictions on drugs have, ironically, exacerbated the drug crisis by contributing to an ever-increasing addiction and drug-overdose rate, prevalence of drugs contaminated with other harmful substances, and policies that hurt minority communities more than they help.

For illegal substances that can easily turn life-threatening in large doses, the average person’s lack of awareness about the specific dangers of addiction and overdose risks their safety. In a situation where drug usage in itself is prohibited, the general public and vulnerable populations cannot seek official channels for safe ways to use drugs. Ignorance often leads to curiosity about experiencing drugs firsthand or accidental overdose incidents, which can lead to even worse outcomes when the illegality of drugs stops users from seeking medical attention for health problems caused by said drugs.

Additionally, because drug users can only access drugs through illegal sources that are under no regulation, the lack of quality control leads to more dangerous situations where illegal sellers mix the drugs that they are selling with other substances to cut corners and maximize their profit, which may cause adverse reactions to users who unknowingly used a tainted supply. Recent evidence of dealers selling street heroin mixed with fentanyl from a 2024 article has suggested this contamination as the cause of the increasing rate of drug overdose and death (Greenhouse Editorial Staff, & Thomas, S., 2024).

The situation seems far worse when one considers how a majority of drug users and individuals incarcerated for drug-related crimes fall into the category of non-white and low-income (Human Rights Watch Report, n.d.). In the US, the most common crime that those in prison have been charged with is drug offenses: an outstanding 62,506–around 43.6%–of all inmates, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Federal Bureau of Prisons, n.d.). A majority of those inmates are Black or Hispanic, a majority that has been maintained for decades (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2015). These numbers show that current policies are not only adversely and disproportionately affecting communities of color, but that they are also ineffective in reducing the amount of drug crimes being committed, likely because the issue of drug use has not been addressed at the root. As prisons are typically harmful to function as a successful deterrent to crime (Barnett, 2009), policies aimed at criminalizing drugs are continuously causing more harm to those from minority communities by only attacking the drug problem at a surface level.

The persistent increase in general drug overdose deaths in America, having risen 137% from 2000 to the present, reflects the ineffectiveness of current measures (Rose et al., 2016). This phenomenon and the way it largely affects disadvantaged populations indicate that the status quo is not conducive to a healthier or more just society.

 

On the other hand, legalizing drugs can help address many of the problems that current measures fail to consider.

Much like alcohol, tobacco, and more recently, marijuana’s legalization allowed state governments to impose regulations on how these products are produced and sold, the legalization of drugs will allow stricter laws focusing on quality control and who can sell or buy the drug in what amount. Licensing policies that require sellers to produce a certain level of drug purity to legally sell drugs can help address the issue of deaths caused by harmful adulterants mixed in with illegal street drugs. Laws that impose an age requirement and limits on the amounts that can be sold at one time can help reduce accidental overdoses brought about by ignorance.

The increased access to drugs brought by drug legalization may also be helpful to Americans who cannot obtain official hospital prescriptions for certain ailments that affect their quality of life. Many US consumers of illegal drugs are those who need it for medical reasons, such as chronic pain or psychological hardship (NCDAS, 2024). Drug legalization means that these people would be able to purchase the drugs from stores by themselves, just like tobacco and alcohol, as long as they satisfy the age requirements. If these people are those who cannot afford to go to the hospital and obtain a proper prescription or treatment, either due to their lack of health insurance or immigration status, then drug legalization can help remove many societal barriers to drug-based treatments that impact minority populations.

Additionally, money diverted from law enforcement for drug crackdowns is money that can be spent addressing the root of the problem—environmental circumstances that make minority populations more susceptible to drug abuse. From an economic perspective, the U.S. government spends about 70% of all anti-drug funds not only on law enforcement but also on prison maintenance. With drug legalization, the U.S. government will be able to reduce the amount of money spent on law enforcement and prison maintenance, freeing up resources to devote to other drug-related issues that are more pressing. The government can fund efforts to expand the availability of more rehabilitation programs for those with drug addiction who are seeking help, in addition to more educational programs for spreading awareness of the risks associated with the use of specific drugs.

The legalization of drugs may also help to remove the stigma associated with drug use, which would make the effects of the aforementioned programs and campaigns more effective. Drugs are typically perceived as inherently harmful (Survjit et al., 2018). This perception may cause those who may benefit from drug use, such as those with chronic pain or other sicknesses that make conventional pharmaceuticals ineffective, to reject them as treatment options. Also, to avoid being associated with that stigma, drug users or those who are in a position to help drug users may avoid getting medical attention or therapy even when it is necessary. Less negative attitudes towards these formerly illicit substances mean more people will be willing to seek help with drugs or for drug-related problems without the fear of potential legal consequences that may befall them afterward. Much like the reputation of marijuana improved with its legalization in many US states, with over a majority of American adults supporting its legalization according to a survey in 2024 (Schaeffer, 2024), legalizing other drugs will help mitigate their negative publicity and help people see drugs as a product that has the potential for both good and bad.

Overall, those who argue for the legalization of drugs claim that legalization will provide societal benefits from both a public health and justice perspective. As defined earlier, a just society is one where all those who live in it receive fair treatment in front of the law, and a healthier society ensures that the public’s physical health and mental well-being are improved. By decreasing deaths caused by drug contamination or accidental overdose, increasing access to drugs for medical reasons, and establishing more programs for combating drug addiction, the legalization of drugs can help contribute to a healthier society. These positive effects will most significantly affect the vulnerable communities–people of color, low-income, immigrant individuals–who are in a socioeconomic environment that encourages casual drug use, cannot get medical treatment, or are barred from getting educated through other means. Therefore, the legalization of drugs will also help to give support to those who need it the most, making society more just.

 

IV.An Argument for Not Legalizing Drugs

On the other hand, those who oppose the legalization of drugs often cite concern over the potential effects of increasing access to dangerous substances. Making it easier to obtain drugs may encourage more people to use them for recreational purposes, which opens up the door for increased rates of drug addiction and abuse. According to a 2023 study, when compared to alcohol, where 10.2% of Americans had a use disorder, 16.7% (around 48.5 million) Americans had a drug use disorder (American Addiction Centers, n.d.). One-fourth of all drug users in America develop an addiction (American Addiction Centers, n.d.). With such a large number that is already experiencing problems with drugs, lowering the bar may exacerbate the issue. The situation with marijuana legalization seems to support this theory, as the rate of addiction to recreational marijuana has increased ever since it was first legalized, from 21% in 2008 to 25% in 2019 (David et al., 2024).

This type of increased drug use may increase the number of problems commonly associated with drug addiction. Drugs interfere with the reward system of the human brain by causing euphoria through an excess amount of dopamine. Thus, repeated drug usage may cause significant long-term physical and psychological damage to the human brain (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018). Marijuana is known for its effect of impairing judgment and slowing down reaction time (NHTSA, n.d.), often leading to accidents, especially those of the traffic variety (Angella et al., 2021). Additionally, recent studies reported a general rise in the rate of cannabis poisoning after legalization and decriminalization in America and Canada (Society For The Study of Addiction, 2023). Considering that marijuana is a relatively less addictive drug with milder effects than the substances that are currently illegal, allowing other drugs to become more prevalent in society may cause an even worse effect.

Opponents of drug legalization also discuss the ethics of de-stigmatizing drug use. With easier access to drugs, the general public may come to treat all drugs like alcohol or cigarettes, a recreational tool that is not too dangerous. However, certain drugs like heroin are much more potent and damaging to the body and mind, meaning that users must exercise due caution and be aware of the risks before casually attempting to take them (Department of Health, 2022). Legalizing drugs will likely reduce the mental hurdle that many people currently feel about using drugs, potentially causing people to become addicted when they accidentally take a drug while underestimating its effect. If drugs remain illegal, the negative perception of drugs and drug users will also remain. The laws against drugs will continue to fortify the general public’s aversion to drug use and all that is related to it (Stephanie & Susan, 2014).

Overall, those who oppose the legalization of drugs focus on the potential dangers that increasing access to dangerous, illicit substances may have on society. They argue that legalizing drugs will only exacerbate the public health issues that are currently associated with drugs, issues that will most significantly impact the minority communities that make up the majority of drug users in America. Thus, they assert that legalizing drugs will not make society healthier or more just.

 

V.Evaluation of the Drug Legalization Debate

I found the pro-legalization argument more compelling because the anti-legalization contingent lacks an empirical foundation for their claims. The primary concern of legalization antagonists is that the rate of drug abuse and overdose would become even worse, usually citing the marijuana situation. However, because drug use has constantly increased in the last two decades, regardless of whether the drugs were considered illegal or not (Hannah et al., 2022), the increase in marijuana usage cannot be solely attributed to its legalization. There was no literature or studies to suggest that, in legalized states, marijuana use experienced a steeper increase than in states where it remained illegal, to account for this ongoing trend.

Additionally, the potential problems raised by the anti-legalization side that involve the generally harmful effects of drugs seem less convincing as evidence when one realizes these are issues that are already rampant in the present day. The current drug crisis in America only exemplifies how drug criminalization cannot stop those who are willing to risk the dangers associated with drug use.

Ultimately, the advantages of legalizing drugs and the disadvantages of maintaining the status quo seem to be stronger, more plausible arguments that are not adequately refuted by the claims made by those who oppose legalization. To combat the worsening drug situation, it seems logical to attempt an alternative approach when the same, repeated attempts of the past have not yielded the desired effects. Because legalizing drugs has the potential to address the public health issues associated with drug use and the racial and income-level disparity displayed by drug-related crime rates, the legalization of drugs seems more likely to create a more just and healthier society than the present one.

 

Conclusions

In conclusion, the legalization of drugs, the alternative approach to resolving the drug crisis in America, will likely contribute to making a more just and healthier society. A more just and healthier society involves efforts to correct racial and socioeconomic injustices, such as drug prevalence caused by institutional racism, and more support to treat physical and mental illnesses, whether that be in the form of encouraging prevention or rehabilitation treatment. Drug legalization opens doors to making drug use a safer, more regulated activity that not only reduces drug-related crimes and deaths but also decreases the disproportionate impact that drugs have on disadvantaged communities in the US. In current American society, where drugs are already prevalent despite their illegality, drug legalization is a more realistic approach that allows more monetary resources and political attention to be devoted to resolving drug-related issues that are already affecting the people, especially when the ever-worsening rate of drug-related deaths tells us how fruitless the present attempts to eradicate all drugs can be.

Though those who oppose drug legalization assert the danger that increasing accessibility to drugs will bring to society, these arguments lose strength in the face of the prevalent drug use already happening. With no statistical evidence to support these anti-legalization arguments and more cause to believe that the alternative solution has merit based on past drug legalization models, I can conclude that drug legalization will likely have a more positive impact on public health and legal justice in America.

 

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