Evaluating The Legalization Of Cognitive Enhancing Drugs Analysis

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Vincent Seapara Social Ethics Professor Robert Foelber March 19, 2015 Evaluating the Legality of Cognitive Enhancing Drugs The issue regarding the legality of the use and distribution of illegal and cognitive enhancing drugs has become one of importance in recent years. Some people believe we need change and others do not. Milton Friedman and Ethan Nadelman are in favor of the legalization of all drugs, while William Bennett and James Wilson are not. Henry Greely focuses only on cognitive enhancing drugs and takes the position that we need change in our attitude and teaching. The first part of this essay contains an evaluation of their perspectives regarding the legalization of illegal and cognitive enhancing drugs. The second part…show more content…
Nadelman wrote an excerpt indicating his own opinion about the current drug legislation. He gives three reasons for why we need a change in legislation. The first is because “the current drug policies have failed, are failing and will continue to fail, because they are flawed.” (Not failed done a fantastic job by not allowing more of the population to be hooked.. Give support from WILSON “HAVE WE LOST in methodology Prgrf) The second reason focuses on the costs of the drug control efforts, and the third addresses the idea that repealing drug laws would not lead to a dramatic rise in drug abuse. Nadelman says the price of drugs if they remained illegal would be greater than if they were not. The drugs would also be more potent and less contaminated. “Wherever an operation is shut down, a new one is opened up.” He concludes that if efforts could succeed in significantly reducing either the supply of drugs or the demand for them, we would not need to seek change in policy (Is curbing a rising population of users not a success??). He says that due to our repeated failures, there is need for some a change. It seems that based on Nadelman’s perspective, he would argue for the legalization of cognitive enhancing drugs as well as illicit drugs. William Bennett has other…show more content…
Bennett acknowledges the opinion of the proponents of legalization. He agrees that it could decrease crime, take away profit from the black market, make poor neighborhoods less crime filled, and enable a public war against drugs like we have on alcohol and tobacco. However, he says we must ask ourselves what the potential costs can be of doing something so drastic is. Bennett says, “We do know, however, that wherever drugs have been cheaper and more easily obtained, drug use and addiction has skyrocketed.” He then gives examples of relatable situations to the one that would be brought upon us from drug legalization. He mentions how the British legalized heroine for a short period of time and addiction increased forty fold, and consumption of alcohol increased by three hundred and fifty percent when prohibition ended. He concludes that drug use is a threat to the individual freedom and domestic peace. Bennett would agree to remain loyal to the current policies regarding both illegal and cognitive enhancing drugs based on his stance on drugs in general. One idea he may bring up is that constantly relying on these drugs will create, “lost productivity, rising health insurance costs, flooded hospitals due to overdoses, and premature
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