Smoke, drink and drugs; the three top vices of our society. They constantly appear in the underground of any modern city, like pests or a plague, and thus forming a billion-dollar industry worldwide. Everyone says not to try them; but then again, everyone secretly wants to, deep inside their heart. And as they say, ‘curiosity killed the cat’; this constant curiosity inherent in human nature is what causes many lives to eventually be ruined by addiction, and what causes the crime lords to end up in opulent mansions, filthy rich.

But then, we all already know that drugs are a constant blight upon civilized society. We know it’s wrong, but because of our inherent curiosity, we turn to the second most asked question in a desperate attempt to justify trading our entire lives for the sake of inquisitiveness; do people have the right to ruin their lives by taking drugs?

Let’s lay down some groundwork. We all know drugs are bad, period. There’s no arguing that point. We’re not looking either at whether legalizing drugs should be carried out; that’s a matter of a political nature and up to the politicians to decide. What we’re looking at, however, is whether people have the right to choose to consume drugs, at its fundamental nature of purchase and consumption, no matter how bad it may be to the individual. We will argue whether the choosing to take drugs falls under the protection of the human rights, whether he is entitled to his own choice and consequences. And if you but take even a glance at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and think about it carefully; you’ll find that taking drugs actually violates these human rights. Yes, their choosing to take drugs VIOLATES their very own human rights.

Firstly, we must understand something. The repercussions of consuming drugs don’t merely affect just the individual at fault; it affects society around him as well. His family suffers from the decreased financial condition, warped personality and social stigma. The community suffers from the repercussions of an illegal drug trade, of corruption and stagnancy, and of possible decreased community status and decreased tourism. The society suffers from the decrease in productivity, as their workers produce less and the money used to sustain the economy now goes towards the black market. The first thing that people must realise and admit, is that taking drugs has a much larger consequence than merely the individual and those around him; it can go all the way up to the societal level and beyond, and the ripples of repercussions has an extremely far reach. So here’s the question I pose to you; is an individual still free to do what he will, when his actions has a negative impact on so many others?

Many will argue that humans still have the universal freedom of choice, that they are free to consume drugs if they so choose. Yet, look carefully at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Is there anywhere stating a freedom of choice, a freedom of action? Instead, there are these articles instead:

Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition before the law

Since taking drugs is breaking the law, you forfeit your human rights anyway by taking drugs. But even if you don’t;

Article 16 (3): The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

An individual taking drugs is definitely hurting his family, financially and socially. Therefore, his family is entitled to protection against him by the state.

Article 28: Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

As mentioned, an individual consuming drugs is harming society through his actions, by decreased productivity and possible economic and social harm. The society is thus rightfully supposed to be protected from him.

Article 29: (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

Again, an individual only has their individual human rights for so as long as they are an active contributor to society, and does not harm it in any way. An individual consuming drugs and harming society thus forfeits his human rights.

And whilst I’m quoting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many will point out the freedom of thought and expression clauses, of article 18 and 19 respectively. Note however, that these clauses only cover expression and thought; sure, you are free to think of taking drugs, or express your opinion that you have the right to take drugs if you so wish (which is why we’re having this debate), but to act upon that desire and cause repercussions to the family, the basic societal unit, as well as possibly the society itself, goes against the whole idea of human rights, whose main purpose is the protection of human rights in the context of society.

Then comes the other arguments; that everyone is doing it, and the government isn’t doing much to stop it, so why not do it? If murder is rampant and has been legalised, does it make murder morally correct, or socially conducive? One must consider the very nature of the action, outside the context of current actions taken. Don’t look at what other people are doing with regards to this action; think of what these actions will do to the other people. The drug trade is currently boosted by this very ‘sheep’ mentality; if everyone simply thought of their duty to themselves, their family, and their society, drugs would have been extinguished long ago.

On a side note, if anyone ever argues legalizing drugs would be socially conducive, although it’s not even relevant to this debate which is about the purchasing and consumption of drugs, it’s still wrong. The decrease in productivity, especially scientific and technological research, will have far more dire consequences on society than any economic boost from the shutting down of the drug cartel. The geniuses and talents of society keep away from drugs, due to their status in the upper echelons of society and the current social stigma against drugs; if drugs were legalized, nothing would stop them from consuming drugs.

So in essence, drugs are bad for you and society, and since it compromises society and harms others, you can’t take drugs. That’s why it’s in the law.