Yunzhi Ni (Jenny)

Yunzhi Ni(Jenny)
Instructor Shuwen Li
Writing 120
15 September 2016
Whether Some Drugs Should Be Strictly Prohibited
The drug problem has been a major problem afflicting the world. In recent years,
more and more people start taking drugs, so that the rate of crime have soared. Drug is
divided in varies kinds, some drugs, such as marijuana, can cause addiction and
habituation; some drugs, such as heroin, can effect central nervous system and even
cause some disease that seriously threaten human health. By comparing and contrasts
the influence of marijuana and heroin to residents, the paper discussed the topic about
whether some drugs should be strictly prevented. The result shows that some drugs,
such as heroin, should be prohibited seriously; however, the legalization of other
drugs, in particular marijuana, should be approved.
The flooding of heroin comes out diverse kinds of negative impact: serious drug
addiction and some terrible disease that threaten human health. The leaders in
Portugal, for an example, passed a law that made Portugal the first country fully
decriminalize personal drug use. Because of this policy, more and more people in
Portugal turned on drugs in order to escape from the realities; however, it is hard to
cut out heroin entirely once people take it. Miranda, a person who has been parking
cars for thirteen years, is a heroin addict due to the legalization drug policy. Facing
the stresses and strains of life, Miranda started taking heroin without thinking the
consequences. Everyone did it then, Miranda said. It was something I had to try. It
made my life bearableit still does. Though it can ruin people, too. I have seen that.
When we started, we had no idea of the consequences. (1) Furthermore, the wide

Yunzhi Ni (Jenny)

spare of heroin increased the incidence of HIV. A person called Goulo, the President
of the Institute on Drugs and Drug Addiction, made a thorough investigation and went
to all the clinics in Algarve. His survey demonstrated that the abuse of heroin fueled
the AIDs epidemic and every family need to face this the negative impact. Moreover,
the uncontrollable spread of HIV is shocking: Thirty-seven per cent of injecting drug
users were receiving methadone to manage their addiction; ten years later, that figure
was sixty-seven per cent. (1) Preventing the sharing of dirty needles seemed the only
way to reduce the transmission of HIV during that period. Elisabete Moutinho, a
clinical psychologist, set up an exchange system in order to control the disease
diffusion. The exchange policy provided people with a clean needle when they bring
in a used one. The evidence potentially demonstrates the horrible result of taking
heroin. As a result, the legalization of Heroin should be strictly prohibited.
Comparing with Heroin, other drugs, such as marijuana, should be treated in an
entirely legal way because of some positive impact. Different from the legalization of
all drugs at Portugal, Colorado leaders legalized the sale of recreational marijuana at
the age of 21. Talking about the influence of Marijuana in Colorado, it is obvious that
Marijuana enhances Colorados economic development to a new level. Denise Miller,
the director of Colorado tourism, did a survey toward 3254 tourists from different
cities in order to find how people perceive Colorado. Ten percent of people surveyed
who had travelled to Colorado between April and September, the period when
marijuana has just been legalized, 85 percent of them stated that marijuana was
primary motivator of their visit. Jason Blevins, who covers tourism for both the
business and sports sections at The Denver Post,, even stated the standpoint that
Marijuana is no longer in the margins of Colorado tourism. It's taking a starring
role.

Yunzhi Ni (Jenny)

By comparing and contrast the influence of both heroin and marijuana, from my
own perspective, the legalization of some drugs, such as heroin, should be prohibited
strictly. Comparing with marijuana, it is harder for people to cut out heroin entirely
once people touched it. Furthermore, the legalization of heroin at Portugal increase
the incidence of HIV, which is extremely difficult to cure. On the contrary, the
decriminalization of other drugs, in particular marijuana, should be approved. From a
criminological standpoint, the legalization of marijuana will raise the price of
marijuana, so that drug dealers might only obtain half profits. For this reason, the
crime rate will decrease. From an economic point of view, the legalization of
marijuana will consequently result in an increase of tax revenue and economic output
from retail marijuana sales. Furthermore, Marijuana promoted Colorado tourism
development into a new level. The state is experiencing economic growth and the
lowest unemployment rate in years.
In conclusion, serious drug addiction and some terrible disease that threaten
human health demonstrated that Heroin should be prohibited strictly. However, the
positive influence on both economic growth and crime rate decreasing proved that
marijuana could be legalized.

Yunzhi Ni (Jenny)

Reference
1 GETTING A FIX: Portugal decriminalized drugs a decade ago, Michael Specter
[online]. Available from:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/17/getting-a-fix
2 Marijuana has huge influence on Colorado tourism, state survey says. [online].
Available from:
http://www.denverpost.com/2015/12/09/marijuana-has-huge-influence-on-coloradotourism-state-survey-says-2/