Drug use affects almost every level of society. This includes our schools, our neighborhoods, the places we let our children play, and even those who influence our children. Drug use, whether legal or illegal, can have a significant impact on the economy. Once the dependency phase is reached, the health and criminal justice systems are also affected. This endangers not only the future of young people, but also that of the country itself. Many politicians argue that legalizing drugs is a realistic way to overcome the ongoing war on drugs in the United States. Although this topic raises debatable opinions on both sides, it must be recognized that the processes involved in the fight against drugs put pressure on the economy. Some researchers believe that legalizing drugs would make the current problem much bigger and eventually spiral out of control completely. I studied the most common medications and their most common side effects. This will show the potential dangers to our community if we make them easily accessible to people. Opioids are often used as painkillers and to help people quit other addictive drugs. Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. This outbreak was recently classified as critical by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to Jayawant and Rajesh, OxyContin is one of the most common forms of opioids. This is a synthetic opioid that has become very public. Although this drug provides substantial pain relief, it has received a lot of media attention due to the number of people who abuse it and eventually become dependent on it (Jayawant and Rajesh). According to this same article, there was an asto...... middle of paper ...... system article published in 2009, there were a total of 3,952 fatally injured drivers who tested positive for the drug (Office of National Drug Control Policy). With such numbers for drugs that are already legal, how can we hope to prevent the abuse of drugs that are not legal? If anything, we should be stricter with regulations surrounding legal drugs. Works Cited Guzmán, M. “Result Cannabinoids: Potential Anticancer Agents.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. US National Library of Medicine, October 3, 2003. Web. May 6, 2014. Jayawant, Sujata S. and Rajesh Balkrishnan. “The Controversy Surrounding OxyContin Abuse: Problems and Solutions.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. US National Library of Medicine, November 24, 0005. Web. May 06, 2014 "Office of National Drug Control Policy." The White House. The White House, nd Web. May 05 2014.