Drugs of Natural Origin

Most drugs that have intoxicating effects come from a natural origin that contain certain chemicals mostly found in plants. Cocaine, opium, marijuana, caffeine, and tobacco all come from naturally grown plants. Cocaine is extracted by chemical means and is not entirely natural, but the plant does contain cocaine just not in a pure form. Opium is actually a drug that is natural and does not require chemicals or any scientific extracting methods to obtain the sap. This drug is found in the Asian Poppy Flower and before the bulb flowers it is cut and a white sap is withdrawn. This sap then turns reddish-brown and dries and that is opium, natural opium contains twenty-percent morphine and the rest is opiate alkaloid. Marijuana is a natural plant, though there are advanced growing methods to strengthen the natural THC chemical. The plant is basically dried and smoked, much like opium. These types of drugs are natural and should be able to grow naturally with everyone able to benefit from their effects. Opium has great medical uses especially with pain, depression, and anxiety. The government and pharmaceutical companies are the reasons why pure morphine, heroin, and fentanyl were created. These medicines do have medical uses though are also dangerous to a person's mortality. Heroin was made by Bayer, the German pharmaceutical company, which advertised the drug as a non-addictive morphine substitute. Patients were given heroin or ordered through mail order catalogs and the effects were terrible. Before the Harrison Act, morphine or cocaine could be ordered through a sears catalog with a syringe and supply of the drug of choice and delivered in the mail. This country used to be the drug capitol of the world with a vast majority of cities containing opium dens. Since the government and wealthy citizens in the lobby did not like the Chinese, opium was soon banned in cities and driven underground. Most opium dens were then disguised as laundry mats or some other legitimate business, all levels of society would attend these dens and participate in the traditional form of opium use. I believe the prejudice against the Chinese forced people to dislike this natural tradition and caused many people to use easily hidden drugs, like morphine and syringes, to enjoy the effects in a more psychologically and physically addictive manner. Regular opium use would be less harmful and is not as life threatening as using a syringe and a more concentrated drug that is chemically extracted. These drugs, morphine, hydromorphone, and hydrocodone are legal if prescribed. They are controlled, though people do easily gain access to these substances and overdoses are reported in epidemic numbers. It is human nature to use these substances, we have for thousands of years, though the natural substances were used hundreds to thousands of years ago and problems never occurred as we are seeing today. Most likely, the reason is because there were never such restrictions or such powerful extractions made for pills or intravenous use.

End the War on Drugs

Topic of discussion in this article will provide new ideas and tactics as to why the government should cease spending billions of dollars on a war that will never end. Everyone enjoys freedom and there are soldiers who have given their lives fighting to have a country that has more liberties than any other country in the world. The government does not care that people have died and sacrificed for this country. The government wants to take away freedoms with almost every law that surfaces in the Senate and House of Representatives. Soldiers in World War I and World War II did not fight to live in a country with government controlled banks, auto industry, and currently under debate, health care. The military is currently fighting in the middle east and also in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan it seems we are destroying poppy fields that poor families harvest in order to afford food and other basic necessities. The government claims Afghanistan farmers and drug traffickers supply eighty-five percent of the worlds illicit heroin. These drug traffickers only make heroin because it is easier to move than tons of raw opium. I personally would like to ask the government a question since this country is a democracy and we should be able to get answers from people we elect to help make this country prosperous. Are we fighting a war on terrorism or are we fighting a more advanced war on drugs? This is a question that I really already know the answer because I can see that the government is simply fighting a war on drugs. The facts and footage are there, the people of this country should know the government is extravagantly spending billions of dollars to finance a high-tech war on drugs by attacking the producing countries. In Afghanistan the military is plowing poppy fields which produce opium and in South America the government is crop dusting coca fields to destroy the plants. I never can recollect the government ever discussing or obtaining approval for this highly financed war. If an every day citizen breaks a law there are repercussions either minor or major and the government obviously can break the law and escape the consequences and never give answers in the public domain. There are organizations dedicated to bringing drug traffickers and manufactures to justice. The DEA organizes and makes arrests to criminals who smuggle drugs and also keeps tabs on all prescription drugs that are classified as controlled substances. The government could save billions of dollars in this useless fight if they made these substances legal and legitimate manufactures made the drugs. The drugs could raise revenue for the government through a sin tax and the drugs would be more safe if manufactured through legal business and approved for sale to the public. Alcohol is currently legal, though that does not mean a person escapes their responsibilities. There are sensible and justified laws that prohibit drinking and driving and violence that this drug can create. There are a great deal of laws and prohibitions actually such as: Public Intoxication, Sell to a Minor, and Assault while Intoxicated(Felony-Third Degree, in most states). If drugs were legal it does not mean there will be no regulation or illegal activities anymore. People should always be held accountable for their actions, for example, alcoholics in recovery do not go and get inebriated just because it is legal they refrain because they understand they are the kind of individual that should not drink. They do have the right to choose at least they have the freedom do as they please with their own life. The government should end this senseless violence and end the ruthless drug cartels by removing them from the equation. These complications are just variables as to how the government is choosing to solve this problem. Take the taboo out of doing drugs and most people would not even care if they were legal. This standpoint comes from a business, economic and law perspective keep in mind that my perspective is not that of a drug addict. My ideas are to lower government spending, increase revenue, and to keep the focus on a better America.

An Endless Struggle

Everyone in this country knows that illicit drugs are banned and outlawed. Simple possession of illicit drugs such as: Opiates, Stimulants, Hallucinogens, and even prescription drugs without a prescription carry heavy consequences with severe penalties that can ruin your life. A vast majority of convicted felons are serving years of incarceration for possession of drugs and have know history of committing violent crimes. These crimes that these so called "criminals" commit ed had no effect on another person's life. People should have free will to choose how to live their life and the government should have no involvement. The traditional Constitution of the United States says the government shall make no law preventing a person from having such freedoms. Now ask yourself why are these rights to choose as responsible citizens stripped away from our control. The reason is because of the Harrison Act, The government and Harrison knew banning the drugs was unconstitutional so they taxed and regulated production. In the future the government eventually outlawed all narcotics, mainly opiates and cocaine, because the people allowed them to pass the Harrison Act. The is the first time where the government had made a law that was very radical and technically unconstitutional. This law paved the road for the government to control our freedoms and legislate Health and Safety Penal Codes that are basically written instructions on how people have to live. Regardless of a person's beliefs remember that if we truly desire a free country we have to stand up and demand freedom from our government. Our government can no longer demand we abide by a law that is unconstitutional and destroy other countries culture in a quest to have a drug free America, a quest that will last for an eternity.