he Drug Laws Don’t Work” article analysis
Michael Huemer’s article, namely “The Drug Laws Don’t Work” commits a false choice fallacy. Critically, the false choice fallacy maintains that a statement is dishonestly asserted as an either-or situation, and subsequently shields individuals from using alternative options. The article introduces the issue as if the answers are limited to only two options. Notably, van Eemeren and Grootendorst (2016) argue that the false choice fallacy is focused on getting individuals to share a specific perspective without thinking about a third option, which could be utilized to derive an answer. However, the current battle on drugs approach has several other options, and now the possibility of the author of the article presents an amicable solution.
Use of Inductive Inference
The article commits causal inference induction reasoning. Huemer argues that legalizing drugs is pivotal to controlling drug abuse among youths (2009). He makes a premise (P1) that the root cause of drug and substance abuse lies in people’s desire to circumvent their troubles. Secondly, Huemer claims that these desires are associated with drug and substance abuse that gives people the pleasure they need (P2). According to him, people get tempted to abuse drugs because they need to satisfy their immediate pleasure rather than examine the long-term effects (P3). He concludes (C) that by legalizing drugs, people’s desire for pleasure will be reduced.
Opinion
My take on this drug issue is that only stimulants should be legalized. For example, certain drugs, such as opioids, should not be sanctioned because of their adverse effects on the user and society. Users of drugs, such as cocaine, have low productivity rates and cannot meet their basic family needs. Besides, the thought of the impacts of these medications helps to suggest that not all drugs ought to be sanctioned (van Eemeren & Grootendorst, 2016). The way to deal with the battle on drugs should be left to discover the unfriendly impacts of these drugs, as argued under a false choice fallacy.