Question

If you had the power to decide which substance should be legal and which should not, what criteria would you use in making your decision? Discuss which social-control strategies could be implemented to govern the consumption of these substances. Post your own thoughts regarding these questions and, when responding to classmates, note how their ideas compare and contrast with your own.

Answer 1

One of the most important criteria I would use is the amount of impact the drug would have on people from the time it’s consumed. This would mean that if it causes more damage to the physical and emotional wellbeing by limiting them from functioning normally in the society, that should be made illegal. This is because of the fact that people are the asset of a country and of this resource is contaminated, everything would be at stake. Secondly, it would depend on the price of a drug because if it is rare people would sell them in the black markets and if it is available and if it doesn’t cause severe physical and mental disturbance, it could be made legal. This would mean that people would look for something that’s rare and when it is available in abundance, they wouldn’t worry about it much thus wouldn’t lead to many law and order problems. Thirdly, there should be a register that would track people who use the allowed drugs and if they engage in deviant behavious, they wouldn’t be sold anymore drugs and their license would be banned and they would come under government scrutiny. This would mean that the fear of losing one’s freedom would force one to use the drug responsibly.

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