Essay on The Truly Staggering Cost Of Inventing New Drugs
Today the drug issue is rather complicated. Drugs have always been a social problem. The use of illegal drugs makes other social problems worse. There are many reasons that can be applied to classify drugs as illegal (Mooney et al., 2012). Many drugs are considered to be illegal because they share addictive qualities that can cause damage to human health. Besides, drugs can be legal in one country, but illegal in another country. The major reasons to this difference in drug distribution include political reasons, e.g. legalization of drugs, or procedural reasons, e.g. “approved by another federal regulatory body but not yet approved by the FDA” (Welborn, 2005, p. 10). At the same time, prescription drugs can be legal in the U.S., but taken illegally by individuals because of the difference in price or some other reasons, e.g. “no legal prescription obtained, or a drug prescribed for someone else” (Welborn, 2005, p. 10). Illegal drugs make other social problems worse, including such problems as the increased crime rate, overcrowded prisons, increased unemployment rate, the spread of AIDS and other health problems, decrease in the U.S. economy and inability to continue the invention of new effective drugs.
There are many social problems caused by the use of illegal drugs. In the U.S. social problems are focused on violation of the established social norms, rules and regulations. The use of illegal drugs leads to the increased drug-related gang violence, which is connected with illegal cocaine and marihuana distribution. The increased crime rate affects the society in general and each society member in particular. Although in some states marihuana is legally used for medical purposes, there are many cases which require special consideration as they lead to harmful actions (Mooney, 2012).
The problem of overcrowded prisons is one more consequence of the use of illegal drugs in the U.S. Those citizens who are involved in illegal distribution of drugs become criminals. There are many causes that lead to this social problem. According to researchers, “the arrest of street drug sellers puts pressure and expense on the already crowded prisons”(Parviz-Babalavi, 2010, p. 62). If drug sellers are arrested, they lose nothing. There are no laws that would fine these people, therefore, overcrowded prisons has become a serious social problem that affects budget and makes no revenue for the U.S. government.
Another serious social problem caused by the distribution of illegal drugs in the U.S. is unemployment. As a rule, drug users are unemployed. They produce nothing and contribute nothing to the development of the U.S. society. The U.S. government is dealing with this social problem through the application of various social programs aimed at providing training and education courses for the unemployed (Mooney et al., 2012).
Besides, the use of illegal drugs makes such social problem as the spread of AIDS worse. In many cases, the use of illegal drugs is associated with the spread of infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases (Mooney et al., 2012; Welborn, 2005). In addition, the use of illegal drugs makes various family issues worse. For example, “conviction of a drug offense can lead to a parent being in prison, eviction from public housing, deportation and permanent exclusion from public assistance” (Mooney et al., 2012, p. 92).
Finally, the use of illegal prescription drugs in the U.S. may lead to decrease in the U.S. economy. If the U.S. citizens continue to buy lower-priced prescription drugs in Canada, Mexico and other countries, there would be a considerable decrease in the U.S. economy (Herper, 2013). According to researchers, the cost of drug manufacturing is rather low, but the cost of new drugs development is rather high (Herper, 2013). One of the reasons of the high cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. is that higher prices allow the U.S. pharmaceutical specialist to invent new effective drugs. According to researchers, “a single clinical trial can cost $100 million at the high end, and the combined cost of manufacturing and clinical testing for some drugs has added up to $1 billion” (Herper, 2013). This fact means that the use of illegal prescription drugs may lead to the decline in invention of new effective drugs.
Conclusion
Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the use of illegal drugs can be viewed as a serious social problem that can make other social problems worse. The U. S. Government should take the proper actions to reduce the negative effects of illegal drugs on the U.S. society in general and on each member of society in particular. The classification of dugs as illegal involves various reasons, therefore, it would be better to place emphasis on each reason and find the proper solutions to eliminate the negative effects of illegal drug use in the U.S.
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