Recreational drugs are recognized to be substances that are consumed by users for leisure and enjoyment rather than medical purposes. There are several opinions about the consumption of recreational drugs due to its addictive properties. However, it can also be stated that the using of recreational drugs in moderation are not essentially harmful to human health and therefore can be decriminalized. The significant objective of the paper is to analyze the various benefits of recreational drugs and how legislations on their usage affects consumer behavior and demand patterns. The thesis statement for the paper is that recreational drugs consumed in moderation are useful to the consumers and therefore should be decriminalized.
One of the most popular recreational drugs that is criminalized across multiple nations in the world is marijuana. According to the reports of several national health institutes, recreational use of marijuana has had beneficial effects on the users and helps in treating their ailments. Keyhani (283) opines that marijuana in spite of being a recreational drug has several medical benefits including the soothing of chronic pain and body-ache. According to Bello (8), the property of cannabis has had significant impact on the brain receptors of the patients, thereby soothing pain. Moreover, marijuana has also been observed to be able to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression by giving the users a peaceful and calm experience. However, the negative impact of marijuana involves its addictive properties that can ultimately cause the users to become dependent on it. Due to this effect, the drug has been regarded as detrimental and hence criminalized. On the contrary, the benefits of marijuana has been recognized by the governments of certain countries due to which it has been legalized for common recreational use.
The benefits of recreational drugs not only include the physical pleasure of using it but also social advantages. According to Underwood (79), the use of recreational drugs have behavioral impact on its users, which leads to the reduction of inhibitions and increases the confidence of people. Greely (702) also observes that the enhancement of such confidence among the users of recreational drugs enables them to improve communication and interaction in the society. In social settings, the use of recreational drugs help in the enhancement of social behavior and reduction of anxiety. The long-term social benefit of recreational drugs is the creation of lasting bonds due to likeness of thinking and opinions. Therefore, it has been observed by Morgan et al. (497) that the use of recreational drugs significantly help in the strengthening of social networks and ties with individuals and the community. However, there are certain recreational drugs that are considered to be more potent than the others and have strong addictive properties. The individuals who grow addicted to such drugs show overall changes in behavioral patterns that vary from person to person according to their social setting. In this regard, it has also been observed that in case of withdrawal from these drugs, the individuals are seen to display erratic behavior, which is often considered to be aggressive or unsocial. These recreational drugs have several negative impacts on the users who grow dependent on them. In fact, the criminalization of these drugs further increase the cases of trafficking and other illegal activities associated with the selling and consumption of these drugs. Therefore, it can be said that the use of these drugs in moderation can prove to be beneficial to the users and its decriminalization can lead to a reduction in the illegal activities associated with them. So the laws regarding the consumption of these drugs must impose certain standards and quantities of consumption that is regarded to be safe.
Mey et al. (2017) have conducted in-depth research on the attraction and the social connectedness that is associated with the use of recreational drugs. In the view of the authors, illicit and licit drugs are both used for the purpose of recreation, and those who do make extensive use of such drugs tend to view these as an acceptable and relatively safe leisure activity. In-depth interviews were carried out on the part of the researchers with a number of key informants who shared their experiences and who also acted as field observers, of complex contexts and scenarios that make up the recreational drug scenario in the Gold Coast region of Australia. The data that was retrieved upon carrying out the research was then analyzed using the grounded theory method of data analysis. The results of the research show that recreational drug use is something that is seen to take place in social settings that are highly complex in character and which entails extensive practices and codes. Some of the ascribed benefits associated with recreational drug use, as made evident through this research, are enhanced performance and improvement in social connectedness. It is the conclusion of the researchers that the enhanced social connectedness that ensues as a result of recreational drug use contributes to the attractive aspect that is associated with the use of recreational drugs. In the view of Mey et al. (2017), harmful mitigation strategies need to engage with a wider audience in order to dwell upon and emphasize the social connectedness that is brought about through the use of recreational drugs, as focusing on antisocial features and younger populations when talking about such drugs, does not appear to actually reflect the true reality that is associated with the use of recreational drugs, by individuals of every age group.
The darkness that is associated with the use of recreational drugs as well as the concept of vaping is something that has been discussed in detail by Blundell et al. (2017). In the view of the researchers, electronic researchers are becoming increasingly popular in the United Kingdom, with nineteen percent of the people who smoke cigarettes in the UK, being people who use them. The capacity to engage in the regulation of evaporation of temperature in new nicotine delivery systems that function on electricity is something that is seen to facilitate the potential concerning the use of such devices for vaping novel substances of a psychoactive nature, cannabis and various other types of recreational drugs. If cannabis is vaped, this can actually bring about a reduction in the use of tobacco, which in turn is a good thing since nicotine or tobacco is very harmful for human health and is capable of inducing malignant diseases such as cancer. Yet it is also argued by the researchers that the misuse of the electronic cigarettes or vaping as it is commonly known, can pose a serious risk to human health, which users of such electronic cigarettes need to be mindful of. Blundell et al. (2017) conclude their study with the statement that further research needs to be carried out, for the purpose of informing primary prevention strategies and appropriate remedies for this issue that has been steadily emerging and which poses a severe crisis to human health. In the argument of Blundell et al. (2017), further research must be undertaken to see how the misuse of the electronic cigarettes is something that can be avoided and strategies must be uncovered or developed in the future that can address the health related problems that are associated with the misuse of vaping containers or electronic cigarettes.
The therapeutic value of recreational marijuana is something that has been studied in a great amount of detail by O’Malley and Patricia (2019). In the view of the researchers, cannabis is one of the most widely used drugs in the whole world. The use of cannabis is something that emerged from the first time in the Western World in the 1800’s and its popularity has grown ever since. However, as barbiturates and aspirin increased in terms of usage, the popularity of cannabis use has considerably declined. According to O’Malley and Patricia (2019), the legalities associated with the use of a drug like cannabis must be revisited and consideration must be made as to whether the use of this drug should be made legal or kept illicit and illegal as it is seen to be in many parts of the Western World such as the United States of America and in the United Kingdom. The researchers state that current evidence points to the fact that there are public health concerns which are associated with the use of cannabis, and that such concerns exist in spite of the growing popularity and the acceptance of cannabis. It is further argued by O’Malley and Patricia (2019) that it is yet to be seen whether cannabis can be used for the treatment of severe diseases like Cancer or ailments that are related to cancer. O’Malley and Patricia (2019), conclude with the argument that the use and the legality associated with the use of cannabis is something that must be reviewed in great deal, and the possibility of sanctioning the use of this drug more widely must be considered, in order for people around the world to benefit from the health related advantages that are associated with the use of a recreational drug like cannabis.
Conclusion
Thus, the research undertaken for this paper indicates that there are indeed a number of benefits connected with the use of recreational drugs. Recreational drugs must be evaluated and reviewed by health experts and professionals around the world and considerations must be made to make the use of recreational drugs legal. In other words, this paper concludes with the argument that recreational drugs need to be decriminalized. The use of these drugs should be made legal given that health benefits are quite a few in number as far as the use of such drugs are concerned, for people of all ages.
References
Bello, Joan. The benefits of marijuana: Physical, psychological and spiritual. Lifeservices Press, 2007.
Blundell, M. S., P. I. Dargan, and D. M. Wood. “The dark cloud of recreational drugs and vaping.” QJM: An International Journal of Medicine 111.3 (2017): 145-148.
Greely, Henry, et al. “Towards responsible use of cognitive-enhancing drugs by the healthy.” Nature 456.7223 (2008): 702.
Keyhani, Salomeh, et al. “Risks and benefits of marijuana use.” Ann Intern Med 169 (2018): 282-290.
Mey, Amary, et al. “What’s the attraction? Social connectedness as a driver of recreational drug use.” Journal of Substance Use 23.3 (2018): 327-334.
Morgan, Celia JA, et al. “Harms and benefits associated with psychoactive drugs: findings of an international survey of active drug users.” Journal of Psychopharmacology 27.6 (2013): 497-506.
O’Malley, Patricia Anne. “Therapeutic and Recreational Marijuana: Safe Practice Within the Web of Politics, Science, Law, and Nursing.” Clinical Nurse Specialist 33.3 (2019): 110-113
Underwood, Mair. “Exploring the social lives of image and performance enhancing drugs: An online ethnography of the Zyzz fandom of recreational bodybuilders.” International Journal of Drug Policy 39 (2017): 78-85.
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