1900, there were more narcotics addicts, proportionate to the population, than there are today. At that time, most of the users who became addicts were medical addicts. Very few abusers took drugs for "recreational" purposes. In 1914, in an effort to curb the indiscriminate use of narcotics, the federal government passed the Harrison Act, making it illegal to obtain a narcotic drug without a prescription. During the 1920’s the Supreme Court ruled that maintaining addicts on narcotic drugs, even by prescription, was in violation of the Harrison Act. Some 30,000 physicians were arrested during this period for dispensing narcotics, and some 3,000 actuallyserved prison sentences. Consequently, doctors all but abandoned the treatment of addicts for nearly half a century in the United States" (Grolier). The only resulting effect will be a negative one. There are no positive aspects of putting drugs on the streets with a label reading "legal." There are plenty of people in society that find enough trouble on their own without the help of their country. Legalizing drugs would have a devastating result that would affect society as a whole. "Audiences need to understand that 70% of drug users are employed, and that the school bus driver who drives your childrento school could smoke marijuana, that the surgeon who operates on you may have cocaine in his system, and that the driver in back of you may be on speed. The debate needs to demonstrate graphically how the common man will be impacted by drug legalization" (Internet). There is an idea that the "drug user" is a low class, unemployed junkie. This is untrue. The drug user is often a white collared worker with a family and a future. They are not all dirtywith missing teeth and poor grammar. The common misconceptions of the "user" are dangerous to those members of society trying to rid the world of the problem. "Drinking on the job is a social and economic pro...
