UNIT 1: Drugs and Public Policy Issue: Should Laws Against Drug Use Remain Restrictive? Yes: Drug Enforcement Administration , from "Speaking Out Against Drug Legalization" (2010) No: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , from "Youth Prevention-Related Measures," Results from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Volume 1 (2010) The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is charged with enforcing the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States. In "Speaking out against Drug Legalization," the DEA argues that enforcement of drug laws is not the cause of violence; drug legalization will not reduce crime and increase government revenue; and prohibition actions can be successful at decreasing drug use. The report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services points out that a number of factors affect drug use by young people. One of the most important factors is perception of risk.

If young people perceive that drugs are harmful, they are less likely to engage in drug use. Other relevant factors include the perception of drug use by peers, religious beliefs, and parental involvement. Legal sanctions are not noted as a deterrent to drug use. Issue: Should the United States Put More Emphasis on Stopping the Importation of Drugs? Yes: Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs , from "2009 INCSR: Policy and Program Developments" (U.S. Department of State, 2009) No: Ethan Nadelmann , from "The Global War on Drugs Can Be Won," Foreign Policy (2007) The U.S. State Department maintains that more effort is needed to interdict drugs coming into the United States because the trafficking of drugs represents a direct threat to national security.

Better cooperation with countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia, where drugs are grown and exported, is essential. Ethan Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, contends that attempts to stem the flow of drugs are futile and that it is unrealistic to believe that the world can be made free of drugs. Nadelmann points out that global production is about the same as it was 10 years earlier and that cocaine and heroin are purer and cheaper because producers have become more efficient. Issue: Should Big Pharma Be Permitted to Discourage Access to Generic Drugs? Yes: Agnes Shanley , from "Legitimate Concerns over Patent Protection, Profits and Shareholder Value Are Being Balanced by Ethics and Humanism," PharmaManufacturing.com (2005) No: Arthur Caplan and Zachary Caplan , from "How Big Pharma Rips You Off," CNN Opinion (2013) Agnes Shanley argues that the enormous cost of developing a new drug justifies attempts to protect its exclusive access to the market after the patent has expired. Arthur Caplan and Zachary Caplan are skeptical of the "staggering cost" claims, and argue that consumers should have access to the generic version of the drug as soon as possible. Issue: Should the Legal Drinking Age Stay at 21 to Decrease Underage Alcohol Use? Yes: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism , from "Underage Drinking," National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Research Report (2017) No: Jeffrey A. Tucker , from "Lower the Drinking Age!" Foundation for Economic Education (2015) The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) considers underage drinking to be a serious health problem in the United States.

Drinking by young people has numerous health and safety risks including injuries, impaired judgment, increased risk of assault, and death. The NIAAA makes recommendations for steps to decrease alcohol use by young people and to treat drinking problems. Jeffrey Tucker argues that despite "draconian" laws against alcohol use in the United States, many teens and young adults still drink. A legal drinking age of 21 years is not realistic and accomplishes nothing to actually stop drinking, according to Tucker. Moreover, the age probation encourages risk drinking behaviors. Issue: Are Energy Drinks with Alcohol Dangerous Enough to Ban? Yes: Don Troop , from "Four Loko Does Its Job with Efficiency and Economy, Students Say," The Chronicle of Higher Education (2010) No: Jacob Sullum , from "Loco Over Four Loko," Reason Magazine (2011) The Chronicle of Higher Education journalist Don Troop argues that the combination of caffeine and alcohol is extremely dangerous and should not be sold or marketed to college students and young people. Journalist and editor of Reason Magazine Jacob Sullum disagrees and claims that alcoholic energy drinks should not have been targeted and banned since many other products are far more dangerous. Issue: Should Smoking Be Banned from Public Places? Yes: Sheelah A.

Feinberg , from "No-Smoking, Please," Huffington Post (2013) No: John Stossel , from "Control Freaks Still Targeting Tobacco," Reason Magazine (2014) Environmental tobacco smoke (a.k.a., "secondhand smoke") is classified as a carcinogen and government agencies declared that there are no safe exposure levels. Many communities have banned smoking in public areas (e.g., bars, restaurants, and parks) to minimize secondhand smoke exposure, including New York. Sheelah A.

Feinberg, director of New York''s Coalition for a Smoke-Free City, reports that her city''s ban on public smoking has improved health and quality of life. Journalist John Stossel disagrees with this position in his opinion piece in Reason Magazine and believes that bans on public smoking are indicative of increased government control over American''s lives. Issue: Should Health Care Plans Cover Naturopathic Remedies? Yes: Mary Flynn , from "Naturopathic Doctors Fighting for Inclusion Under Health Reform Insurance Policies," California Health Report (2014) No: Brian Palmer , from "Quacking All the Way to the Bank," Slate (2014) Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, emphasizes prevention, treatment, and optimal health via methods that stimulate self-healing processes. Mary Flynn, a reporter for California Health Report, describes efforts in California to have visits to naturopathic doctors covered in her state''s new insurance marketplace. Brian Palmer, who writes for Slate, is concerned that taxpayers are forced to support, through state and federal public medical plans, alternative approaches that have little efficacy. Issue: Does China Have an Effective Approach to Combat Drug Addiction? Yes: Sheldon X. Zhang and Ko-lin Chin , from "A People''s War: China''s Struggle to Contain Its Illicit Drug Problem," Foreign Policy at Brookings (2016) No: Yingxi Bi , from "On the Death Penalty for Drug-related Crime in China," Human Rights and Drugs (2012) Sheldon X. Zhang and Ko-lin Chin provide an overview of China''s approaches and its successes and failures in combating illicit drugs, including the use of capital punishment for severe offenses.

Yingxi Bi examines the factors that have led to a relatively large number of Chinese citizens and noncitizens being subject to the death penalty. UNIT 2: Drugs and Social Policy Issue: Are Opiates Overprescribed? Yes: Graeme Wood , from "Drug Dealers Aren''t to Blame for the Heroin Boom. Doctors Are," The New Republic (2014) No: Carol M. Ostrom , from "New Pain-Management Rules Leave Patients Hurting," The Seattle Times (2011) Graeme Wood, a contributing editor at The New Republic, draws on his personal experience using potent opiates after dental surgery to explain the prevalence of opiate addiction. He describes an American medical system that precipitates opiate abuse and dependence. Carol M. Ostrom, who writes for The Seattle Times, acknowledges that prescription opiate addiction and drug diversion are important concerns; however, these concerns could be inflated. As a consequence, those who need opiates are denied appropriate management of their pain.

Issue: Is Opiate Addiction Truly Debilitating? Yes: Heather Lynn Peters , from "Young Father Details Heroin-addiction Nightmare: ''It''s the Worst Sickness You Can Imagine," Michigan Live Media Group (2015) No: Theodore Dalrymple , from "Withdrawal from Heroin Is a Trivial Matter," The Spectator (2009) A heroin addict stays a heroin addict to avoid the misery of withdrawal, a sickness where the addict is unable to function: This is the experience of young man in Michigan who is dependent on opiates. The article by Heath Lynn Peters describes how addiction to heroin and other opiates has torn apart a community. Theodore Dalrymple is the pen name of Anthony Daniels, a retired prison doctor and psychiatrist. He reports that.