I wrote this paper about the similarities that exist between the legal and illegal drug markets. I've lived a rather sheltered life free from drugs, so I didn't know anything about the illegal drug trade coming in to the class. If anything, I assumed that the illegal drug market must run off its own system completely separate from legal standards. What I learned in this paper, though, is that the two markets are more similar than different, especially in terms of their aggressive marketing and failed government attempts to control them. The paper helped bring to light to me that illegal and legal drugs are really only divided by our own laws and decisions, and that being part of the legal drug market does not make it right or ethical.
I got to take on the role as the leader of a pretend task force designed to respond to the opiate epidemic in America. Rather than take on the traditional "war on drugs" approach, I decided that a framework focused on decriminalization and treatment would be better for everyone involved. Writing the paper helped me to see some of the larger forces that contributed to this epidemic, and how disenfranchised communities have been made the scapegoats for this problem. Furthermore, the U.S. currently treats drug users as criminals, and use programs like AA and drug court that focus on complete abstinence instead of teaching users about moderation and balance. As a culmination of my learning in this course, I realized that we need to shift our nation's stance to be less punitive and more supportive of drug users, because in the end they are just human beings like anyone else who, through a variety of uncontrollable circumstances, were forced into this lifestyle.