Critical Evaluation of the Extended Argument for theLegalization of Drugs in America

Critical Evaluation of the
Extended Argument for the
Legalization of Drugs in America


Introduction

In an essay by John D. Halloran, the argument was made for the legalization of drugs in America. Among the main points in his argument, Halloran included descriptive figures of the monetary cost of fighting the war on drugs, quotations by men of position, both past and present that support Hallorans claim, and personal views on the status of the war on drugs. Though he commits some common formal fallacies in elaborating his argument, and the evidence in support of his position may not be foolproof, Hallorans’ main conclusion seems sound: that the solution to the drug problem this nation is currently facing is legalization.

Reconstruction of the Extended Argument

P1 The problem of ‘rampant lawlessness, corruption and violence caused by drugs’ is escalating.
P2 The practice of bribery and looking the other way has begun to infest us officials.
P3 Fo...