Cocaine: What if is legal?

When I tell people that I am writing a blog about if drugs should be legalized I always get asked the same question, “Do you mean legalizing ALL drugs or just marijuana?” The answer to this question is simple, all drugs and why; well because even though marijuana is the most used illicit drug it doesn’t cause as many deaths as it does cocaine and heroin. When I talk about deaths it is not only based on the deaths because directly by consumption, but also the deaths cause by the drug trafficking and all the deaths related to the drug.

Cocaine is obtained from the cocoa plant; it is a central nervous system stimulant, and an appetite suppressant. Cocaine is sold by grams and it is a white powder use mostly by snorting. It can also be made into crack which is a solid form of cocaine that can be smoked. Cocaine is very addictive, so even though its production is illegal in almost every part of the world its demand is really high. Some people start using cocaine because after smoking marijuana or other less addictive drugs, people feel the need to try something “stronger, harder”. Another reason some people get addicted is because of the “cocaine diet”. Cocaine diet is used by people who are desperate to lose weight and the reason why cocaine is used, is because as I said before it is a appetite suppressant so it doesn’t let people eat as much.

Cocaine affects the human body in various ways, but it is one of the most addictive substances in the world, and that is why is illegal, because once a person gets addicted he will do anything to obtain cocaine no matter what it takes even to the point of killing. Because of this addiction you could say that legalizing cocaine is out of the question since it would make it easier for people to acquire it and became potential killers.

The short term effects of cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert, especially to the sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. The short term physiological effects are constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, and increase in blood temperature, heart rate and blood pressure. Most of the cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.

Now that we know what cocaine does to our body I believe that cocaine can be compared to tobacco or alcohol because they mostly just affect the user. Yes in some cases cocaine addicts can become violent, but so can drunken people and alcohol is legal.

If cocaine is legalized it is going to be an increase of drug users, but it might be worth it. So this is the dispute, if it is illegal thousands of innocent people die yearly because of drug-trafficking, and hundreds die yearly because of its use. If it is legalized maybe thousands would die from its use and none from the trafficking, since there would be no need for drug lords to use violent methods to sell drugs. But also if is legalized the people that are going to be affected, are going to be the drug abusers, meaning is their fault that they are killing themselves, instead of innocent people getting killed. So do you think it is worth it to legalize cocaine, or do you believe it is too much of a risk?