I am aware that this was a side conversation in class; however, it is still a very pertinent subject to the class. If things that are illegal now, such as drugs, became legal, then how will our society respond? Sure, we might still see a decrease in murders committed by drug dealers and others, but will it truly be better for our society? I am not talking about all drugs; I know that some are less severe than others, but there are still a lot that do damage. If these drugs were legal, then many more people would use them freely without fear of hurting themselves or others. Many of these drugs inhibit the mind from thinking rationally or clearly, and people make countless decisions each day. It is not just a question about economics, in my opinion. There has to be something standing in the way of people abusing these drugs. Take the Purge for example. I know it is a fictional story, but it serves as an example for something that was illegal for a reason becoming legal. In the movie, murder is allowed for 24 hours. In those 24 hours, people die. College kids leave their homes because they are looking for something fun to do. They kill for fun. That is not good for a society to practice. In the same way, if drugs were legalized, people would use them just because they can. Hopefully, this all makes sense. Overall, the main question is how will the legalization of drugs affect the choices that people make in their day to day lives?
This brings up an interesting point in one the most hot-button issues in politics today, abortion. It seems to me that the decision to get an abortion, similar to the decision to destroy your body with hard drugs, is not one that will be decided based on legality. I don't do drugs now, the option to do them legally wouldn't convince me to. So maybe the decision to make it legal will actually just reduce the amount of deaths in both scenarios, because it can be legally monitored, and safer. All this said, the real work that needs to be done in both of these scenarios, from a Christian perspective, is with people, not laws and policy.
One problem with your statement is that drugs are not like abortion. You can be peer-pressured into doing drugs. You are most likely not going to be peer-pressured into getting an abortion. If you do get peer-pressured into having an abortion, may God then work a miracle to save your feeble mind, and it is probably for the best that you do not raise a child anyways. However, the problem still remains that when people consume harmful and intoxicating substances, their cognitive functions are hindered. They will not be able to make smart choices. By legalizing drugs, more deaths will occur from people acting in a drug-induced state of being. Think about how many people already die each year due to drunk driving. Another point I would like to make is that most people in the world are not you. They do not think the same way as you. Therefore, to make the claim, "Because I would not be convinced to do drugs legally, others would not as well," is a major error in logic. Many people would definitely do drugs just because they became legal. My last point, when you say legally monitored, do you mean the government watching and overseeing the drug use of every individual who desires to do so? Wouldn't that just cause more work that the government has to tax us for? A drug use permit? A drug use association? Another government group of experts to be paid from the pockets of American citizens? Please let me know what you mean by "legally monitored." Because that does not sound much better than any scenario that has been mentioned.
I think you are assuming a great deal when it comes to legalization leading to greater consumption of illegal consumption. For the sake of argument, I will say that I agree with you: On the margin, while I may not be a person who is dissuaded from using a drug from it being illegal, there may be someone else out there who is. My point is to say that those handful of individuals who are frothing at the mouth to consume drugs, but are dissuaded by its illegality pales in comparison to the number of lives that could be saved should drugs be legalized - since it seems making drugs illegal doesn't cause as drastic as a decrease in demand as one might think. As for your example of The Purge, I am so glad you brought it up. One of my favorite living economics Bob Murphy has an episode on it pointing out some plot holes that are more obvious to economists. I cannot make you do a special assignment, but if you listen to this podcast episode and respond to it in the next forum post, I would certainly give out some brownie points (however much those are worth).
https://www.bobmurphyshow.com/episodes/ep-154-bob-murphy-analyzes-the-hunt-and-the-purge-movies-as-an-anarchist/
https://www.bobmurphyshow.com/episodes/ep-154-bob-murphy-analyzes-the-hunt-and-the-purge-movies-as-an-anarchist/