War on Drugs

By: Nandhinee Akkaraju

 Knowledge Issue

 To what extent is Legalization a realistic

alternative to the War on Drugs?

 To what extent should drugs be legalized

for medical purposes? i.e. Marijuana
 Legalization
 Legalization is the process of removing a
legal prohibition against something which
is currently not legal.
 Legalization is a process said by those
working towards legalization, as victimless
crimes, such as the consumption of illegal
drugs.
 War on Drugs
 A campaign of prohibition and foreign
military aid that was started by the United
States government, with the help of
helpful countries, intended to explain and
decrease the illegal drug trade. This plan
includes drug policies that are meant to
discourage the production, distribution,
and consumption of psychoactive drugs.
President Richard Nixon created the term
in 1971.
 Medical Marijuana
 Medical Cannabis (Medical Marijuana)
reduces nausea and vomiting.
 Stimulates hunger for patients undergoing
chemotherapy.
 Synthetic cannabinoids available as
prescription drugs.
 Alzheimer's disease, Cancer, AIDS,
Sclerosis
 Real Life Situation
 United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers‘
Cooperative
– The United States Supreme Court rejected the
common law medical necessity defense to
crimes achieved under the federal Controlled
Substance Act of 1970, regardless of their
legal status under the laws of states such as
California that recognize a medical use for
marijuna.
 Community of Knowers
 Society Pro Legalization
 Society Anti Legalization
 Government/Law Enforcement
 Gerald Uelmen
 Drug Cartels
 Society Pro Legalization
 Mitch Earleywine, PhD, Associate
Professor of Psychology: “state medical
laws caused the documented declines in
adolescent marijuana use, the
overwhelming downward trend strongly
suggests that the effect of state medical
marijuana laws on teen marijuana use has
been either neutral or positive,
discouraging youthful experimentation
with the drug....”
 Society Anti Legalization
 Legalizing will display that legalization will
bring benefits to particular individuals at
the cost and expense of the common
good.
 Cost of drug usage is at the expense of
user's children, parents, friends,
colleagues, victims of drug usage and the
health system.
Government/Law Enforcement
 The war on drugs has corrupted law
enforcement.
 Illegal drug use supports terrorism.
 The government limits the right’s of
individuals.
 In year 2000 U.S. Government spent 18.4
million dollars on drug control.
 FDA the sole gov’t entity responsible for
ensuring safety regarding drugs.
 Gerald Uelmen
 Lawyer who fought for the legalization of drugs.
 Famous for the work on O.J. Simpson’s case.
 “ as a medicinal drug, "it should be treated like
any other medicine." However, he disagrees
with the legalization of it as a recreational drug,
fearing the creation of another class of addicts
to add to the millions of alcoholics and tobacco
smokers.”
 Drug Cartels
 Reduce Crime Rates
 Simpler method of drug-trafficking
 In some cases, cartels would be broken
up and no longer exist because there will
be no need for cartels.
 Related Knowledge Issues
 To what extent are government policies aiding in ending
the War on Drugs?
 To what extent is the War on Drugs succeeding?
 To what extent will incentives impact the War on Drugs?
 To what extent should the United States government get
involved in the War on Drugs?
 To what extent is the legalization of marijuana an
alternative to the Drug Wars?
 Would allowing the medical use of marijuana send the
wrong message to our children and our society?
Justifications of Knowledge Claims
 Logic
 Faith
 Sensory Perception
 Universal Truth (PIE)
 Public: Long lasting anti-drug beliefs
 Independent: Recreational drugs are
unnecessary. Pharmaceutical drugs allow
for cure and disease prevention.
 Eternal: Drugs are used in a
pharmaceutical manner in order to cure or
prevent disease. Recreational drugs affect
the central nervous system.
 Ways of Knowing (WOK)
 Sense Perception
 Reason
 Emotion
 Areas of Knowledge
 Ethics
 Natural Science
– Medical Purposes
 History
 Personal
Friend Diagnosed with Cancer
 Chemotherapy, Hunger, Nausea

 Belief: Marijuana for medical purposes is

justified, as is other drugs but drugs for
recreational purposes is unnecessary and
should be forbidden.
THE END! (Plus Work Cited)