Most certainly it cannot be denied that drugs ‘can’ be devastating. Many have seen enough people who were truly addicted to know the kinds of things they will do, and say, to get a hit of their drug of choice.

But, one of the reasons that drug use is an epidemic in this country, and many others, is the way that societies treat their use. Doing something that is illegal is a rush in itself. It’s exciting. And it makes the drug user feel like a rebel.

At one time or another during this writers life, he has used most of the drugs available on the market. All but Morphine, PCP and Heroin. And truthfully, glad to have never tried any of these, because they may have been just as fun as all the others. But, being educated as to the true effects of these drugs and the most probable result of using them, which is the addiction they cause. It was shown first hand just how far addiction could go. It scared the hell out of this writer, but, it did not stop the experimentation, either. It only made for being more careful in the experimentation. But the illegality of drugs was the reason to want to experiment. After all, if they are illegal, they must be fun.

And, lo and behold, it was discovered what millions of people before had discovered: It’s fun getting high. It’s a release from the stupidity, cruelty and plain insanity of the world everyone lives in. It’s not an escape, as has been suggested so many times. Every user out there knows that they are not “escaping” from anything. It’s a suspension of the worry that is felt everyday, but not an escape. The world always comes crashing in around you. Even the most addicted know this, and therefore try to stay high so they don’t have to deal with it. But, again, they know they are not escaping anything.

Unfortunately, using most drugs of choice in this way is addictive. Those that are physically addictive being the worst, of course. But the allure is too high for many because of the thrill of doing something that others tell them they shouldn’t.

This allure is naturally more pronounced in youngsters who are constantly pushing the limits that society, their parents and their friends put on them. Is it any wonder that drug use among teenagers is so high in many places? The true wonder is that the usage isn’t so much higher than it is. There are so many teenagers who started experimenting in High School, some even before that.

The fact that these drugs are illegal is one of the reasons they are so dangerous. It provides a sure-fire, built in excuse for experimentation. Usage gives the user a rush, above and beyond the effects of the drugs themselves. It makes them feel as if they are getting away with something … and it’s quite easy to become caught up in that feeling and forget the most unfortunate side effect of the drugs … addiction.

But, that’s just the devastating effect of illegal narcotics on an individual, or, as some will attest, the friends and family of the addicted. The true devastating effect of illegal drugs on society can be seen everyday on the streets of the cities.

Young men are shot and killed over territories almost everyday in the larger cities of the world. Since drugs can only be sold on the street, the streets have become a battlefield. Why? Because there is too much money in “Black Market” drugs. Too much money involved for gangs to not take the chance to sell them. They understand the dangers of doing so. The jail time and the possible death at the hands of a rival gang wanting their territory, but there is just too much money involved for them to not give it a go.

So, the streets are truly paved in gold because the government chooses to keep these substances illegal. Unfortunately, the streets are also now being paved in blood because of that same policy. This is the truly devastating effect of illegal drugs. The youth of America, and other countries, will be drawn to the gang lifestyle because the chance to make money is just too great. And until something is done to rectify the situation, many of them will die.

Now the loss of a good number of these young men is not really any great loss. After all, if they are drawn to such a dangerous lifestyle they can’t be too intelligent, can they? But, if you look at the situation carefully, you’ll see the truly devastating effect. The gangs that are involved in this illegal trade need to grow. And they need to replace those who are lost in the fighting with rivals or sent to prison. Then they need to expand their territory so they can sell more. Which, of course, means that more young men die. You can see the the circular momentum of this.

And with this need to grow and replenish their ranks, Gangs have begun to “force” members to join. In some neighborhoods, you must be in a gang, or die. At the least, those who don’t join live in fear of the gangs in their neighborhood. And, to make matters worse, gangs are then forced to take younger and younger members into their ranks to make up the difference as the older members are killed, or sent to prison, etc.

Again, this is the truly devastating effect of illegal drugs on societies. And it must be stopped. While gangs are probably too entrenched to get rid of them entirely, if you remove the financial reasons for them, many will not be drawn to them and the territories become just neighborhoods, again. Hopefully, much of the killing would stop then. Not all of it, of course, human nature, and the nature of the gangs, being what it is, but a good percentage of it.

Now … a corollary to that argument is that if you remove the need for police to enforce drug laws, then more officers become available to investigate and solve all those other crimes which pile up over time. The incidental murders, the robberies, muggings, carjackings and break ins. And, more court time becomes available to try those cases, as well.

The illegality of drugs causes all sorts of devastating effects on society that few see, or care to discuss. They would rather just blindly go about their lives believing that the government has made the right policy in this matter and then forgetting about it altogether. Those in the poorer neighborhoods live with those effects everyday, though. They have been betrayed by their government that refuses to do the one thing that would lessen the pressure in these neighborhoods.

So, by this article, you would probably assume that this writer is advocating the legalization of drugs. Strictly speaking, this is true. There would be harm that such a move would have on some individuals, and their families and friends. It is understandable that there are some who are held back from experimentation because of the illegality of narcotics. There is the number of people who won’t try drugs if they are illegal that may be smaller than that of those who will try them if they are, creating even more addicts for everyone to deal with than there are now.

Don’t dismiss these dangers lightly. The benefits to society as a whole would outweigh those dangers. After all, addiction, while not a good thing, is hardly as bad as drive-by shootings and street corner murders. And, many who become addicted to drugs do finally get over it. Death, on the other hand, is permanent. And all the money wasted in arresting, trying, sentencing and keeping all those found guilty of drug trafficking and other gang-Lrelated charges, is gone forever and can’t be used for other purposes.

So, while it may not be the ideal solution to the problem, legalization may be the best beginning to reducing those “devastating effects” of illegal drugs.