Worldwide Perceptions on Narcotics
by Kyle Treese
Disclaimer: This thesis is not for or against drugs and/or users. This report applies hypothetical situations based off of personal views and opinions.
How common are Drugs?
Over the last few years, peoples thoughts on narcotics have been altered. 5 years ago, you might have found a more strict and disapproving thought process when it comes to marajuana alone, however, as generations grow, the temptation of getting high claims more and more to its ever expanding list of users everyday. To help capture just how broad drug abuse is in America, I reccommend the film "The House I Live In", directed by Eugene Jarecki. This documentary film takes place in 20 different states, all of them capturing different communities and homes that are stricken by drug abuse. While the point of the film is to capture the effects of drug use, I'm using it here just as an example to showcase the vast reach of narcotics.
What do we want Drugs for?
As the years progress, drugs of all kind, both medical and non-medical, become produced in new, untracable ways. Those who create, find new methods of smuggling and distribution. Even the way we take and experience drugs is new, as people discover and create new marajuana strains for instance. But our desire doesn't end there. Most users look for some kind of drug use in their partners and friends. I had two associates, as well as myself, sign up for popular dating app, Tinder, where users create profiles that offer a little bit of information about themselves and what they're looking for. The users may also include pictures of them and/or interests. My associates and I created accounts and together, we went through roughly 100 unique profiles, a total of 68 (men and women) were open about their drug use. A few examples are shown below. These dating app users post their drug habits in hopes of attracting other similar individuals, so they may connect with each other through drug use (not that this would be the only method of relationship developement). However, just because they include their habits in their personal biographies, or "bio", doesn't mean that drug use isn't the most important attribute in a partner, but they wouldn't put it in their bio if they didn't think it would attract a partner. Now, this would be purely speculation if I didn't back any of this up without confirming it with them or at least someone in similar positions. I spoke to a few more associates who have created Tinder profiles and included similar descriptions in their bios. They all confirmed that they would feel either more comfortable or interested in their potential partner if they partook in drugs with them, some even said they might be more attracted if their partner got high with them. They're not 100% certain if they would be deterred from spending time with someone who didn't approve, or join in on smoking or any other consumption method of marajuana, because they haven't met anyone opposed to their habits, yet. That allows for even more interpretation to opened up, for instance, would potential partners abandon sobriety or rethink their choices to join in just to get closer? Or lie, and make the other feel like they're "introducing" them to the drug.
How would Americans react to Drug Ban Laws?
America already has some pretty strict laws regarding drugs and non-approved narcotics, however, the past few years have been filled with quite a few drug law changes, including the legalization of marajuana in most states. But what would happen if the government went back on their word, making marajuana illegal again, as well as cracked down on every other drug, potentially including pharmaceuticals? I think the first few months would be rough, people's medications not being fulfilled, people even passing away from no medication or having to resort to black market narcotics, a few protests here and there. As time goes by, I think people would get used to no narcotics, for a short time. Once sickness seasons come full swing, those who are severely afflicted or those who develope some kind of infection or disease, then the protests would come back, and maybe larger and more violent. However, I've only covered the medicinal side of drugs, what about those who consume marajuana? Or those who already use illegal drugs, such as heroine, or cocaine? Would life would be about normal for them? It depends on how much power law enforcement carries in certain cities. If they crack down full swing and acquire more cadets, officers and agents, I believe they would have a stronger chance of keeping drugs off the streets, moreso than now. Assuming the bans are carried out in full and to the letter, drugs are off the streets, all drug dealers are either in jail or given up the profession, there would be a massive flux in either crime or hospital patients, maybe even both. Crime because the users would go crazy and try to get their fix back by any means necessary, and hospital patients because they wouldn't be able to make it through the withdrawl phases.
How would Americans react to Drug Decriminalization?
I talked about potential scenarios if America experienced more intense drug bans, but what if we do the opposite? Portugal, currently, has the most amount of drugs decriminalized, allowing it's citizens to use and experience almost any drug they want. They have clinics everywhere in the country, opening up new jobs for citizens, both who use and who don't (they have more laws and rules regarding this kind of freedom, but we won't get into those specifics as they don't have much to do with my hypothesis). So this only begs the question; what would happen if we followed suit? What would happen if America allowed its citizens to take part in whatever high they wanted? I think most Americans, both users and non-users would have a party period, doing whatever drug they wanted whenever they wanted with no fear of arrest or jail time. Once the party period is over, then what? Once addicted to a drug, it's hard to just shake it off, and it's even harder to be a functioning drug addict. However, like Portugal, this would open up so many new jobs and careers would be opened to the public, such as clinics, OD Centers, even hospitals would have a number of openings, but who would claim it? More than likely those who remain clean and work hard instead of going out to party and get high. In my honest opinion, it would be hard to determine if this would be actually beneficial to the economy or not since there are so many financial factors. In the long run, I think America would fall into an extreme decline, economically, psychologically, physiologically, and everything else in everyway imaginable. Drugs can reshape an entire culture if given the power.
