cannabisnews.com: It's Time to Give Up the War on Drugs 





It's Time to Give Up the War on Drugs 
Posted by FoM on September 10, 2001 at 11:01:39 PT
By Gary S. Becker
Source: Business Week
The Bush Administration appears determined to continue the war on drugs that has been actively pursued by all U.S. governments since the Nixon Administration. I believe this is a serious mistake because that approach has failed badly. Legalizing marijuana, and even some hard drugs, may be a more effective alternative.Defenders of the war on drugs often throw in an economic argument: It has been successful because it curtails use by raising street prices. It does this because suppliers have to be compensated for the risk of imprisonment and other punishments. 
It may be true that high prices have reduced the demand for drugs, but the fact remains that most illegal drugs remain popular and available, regardless of price. More important, any reduction in the number of addicts and other users has come with an enormous price tag. The U.S. alone spends almost $40 billion annually fighting the drug war, and other countries also spend big sums.The war is fought by seizing and destroying drugs and by apprehending and imprisoning suppliers. Large numbers of Americans were jailed on drug convictions during the 1980s and '90s, so that they now account for more than 30% of all inmates. A depressing fact is that the U.S. imprisons a larger fraction of its population for drug-related offenses than European nations do for all crimes. The high prices due to the war have provided huge profits for cartels and others who evade detection and punishment. Estimates place the world market value of illegal drugs at several hundred billions of dollars--in the same league as the markets for cigarettes and alcohol.Street War:To protect their profits, criminals battle police and bribe officials all over the world. Some cartels have become more powerful than the governments that oppose them. The economy of Colombia, the world's biggest exporter of cocaine and a major producer of heroin, has been wrecked by the conflict between drug cartels and government efforts, financed by the U.S., to eradicate production of cocaine and heroin. These efforts have had only modest success.Competing American gangs intimidate and assault, and sometimes murder, anyone who opposes them as they fight over the large illicit profits from drugs. This has helped devastate many inner-city neighborhoods because poor blacks and Hispanics in these neighborhoods are the main foot soldiers in drug supply networks. They earn what may appear to be pathetically little, given the risks they take, but their earnings often are higher than what they could get in legal jobs. And there is also a small chance that they will make a big score.Legalizing drugs is far from a panacea for all the distress caused by drugs, but it will eliminate most of the profit and corruption from the drug trade. Ending Prohibition almost immediately cleaned up the liquor industry. To be sure, legalization will increase drug use by, among other things, lowering street prices, but that can be partially offset through sizable excise taxes on producers. In many nations, retail prices of cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline are several hundred percent higher than their wholesale prices because of large "sin" taxes on them. The revenue collected from large taxes on drugs could be used to treat addicts and educate youngsters about the harmful effects of many drugs.Although some drug production would go underground to avoid high taxes, experience with liquor, gasoline, and cigarettes shows that most producers would operate legally. They would want to use the courts in order to settle contract disputes, to raise funds on financial markets, and to avoid the penalties associated with criminal production. In addition, many consumers would prefer legal suppliers of drugs because they provide better control over quality and safety, considerations that are even more important for drugs than for cigarettes and gasoline.Although legalization would make drugs cheaper and more readily available, sales to minors could be discouraged by harsh punishments and by restricting legal sales to designated shops. The present system has not been effective in discouraging drug experimentation by the young in part because suppliers are subject to punishments whether they sell to adults or children.And anyone who drives or works while impaired by drugs should be subject to severe punishments because they are a menace to others. A good example to follow is the tough approach that some nations take toward drunk drivers: They lose their licenses, pay fines, and frequently receive stiff jail sentences.Since legalizing drugs is a venture into the unknown, it may be wise to proceed in steps. But sooner or later, the human and other costs directly due to the continuing wars on drugs will force a new approach. So far, no one has devised a better alternative than legalization of drugs combined with a high "sin" tax on users, safeguards against sales to children, and severe punishments to anyone who drives or works while impaired by drugs. Newshawk: normlmediaSource: Business WeekAuthor: Gary S. BeckerPublished: September 17, 2001 Copyright: 2000 - 2001, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.Website:  http://www.businessweek.com/Contact: http://www.neodata.com/BusinessWeek/lettersed.htmlRelated Articles:A Debatable War on Drugs - David S. Broder http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10725.shtmlIt's Time We Admit Drug War a Failure http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10632.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by auto on September 10, 2001 at 15:52:22 PT:
my neigborhood would improve!
As an average middle american. I see drugs bought and sold as close as across the street from my home. I cannot hide the truth from my children or pretend they are not there, because they are. They always will be that close...ALL ACROSS AMERICA.Legal or Illegal...people will buy and consume drugs PERIOD.There is simply too much demand for Drugs..Legal and Illegal. It is big business...therefore we get the politics and they stink to hell. It is anti-American to have prohibition!. We The People as a majority agree that these policies are old, impractical and out of control. Since drugs are in high demand there will be a supply one way or another. If the decriminalization and perhaps the legalization of drugs would happen in this country. Drug Dealers would be out of business!. Do the people understand what this means? There would be Less Crime. Less Guns. Less Murders. Fewer people would die from overdoes, the really bad even deadly batches of some drugs would no longer exist. Drugs would become safer..No more people would die from bad Esctacy at Raves. No more cocaine cut with AJAX. PERIOD. The same thing happened with alcohol in this country. The crime that went along with bootlegged booze were out of business overnight. Al Capone...remember him? Tax evation got him later on...Make Drugs Legal! Require that at a certain age(18-21) be allowed to buy and consume drugs...ID them!. People Do you understand that this actually protects kids more? (it will make more sense when you think about it...go ahead open your mind and try...some of you never learned this due to the inherinet fear of god instilled as a child...just kidding)Also quit using the "It saves our kids" excuse...That is BS and we are tired of hearing it. I am a parent alright!.There are things in this world made for kids.. Go to ToysRuS...and there are things meant for adults...Go to Las Vegas. So quit it OK.License companies to produce these drugs with brand names. TAX IT. APPLY WARNING Labels to the product. Warn them of side effects, Pros and Cons. Let there not be any propaganda BS. Please. These products can be bought and consumed by individuals who want them. No this does not mean I want people to go buy drugs and then go drive a school bus full of kids...just like i do not want the bus driver to go buy a fifth of vodka and go drive a bus full of kids. There are appropriate times to use these drugs. There are people who are responsible to use these drugs safely and there will also always be those who cannot or willnot apply rational, responsible approaches to any substance.Guess what? There is revenue being raised for the consumption of these substances will be substantial! A whole new economy would exist that would generate billions of dollars. The money that went into the "Drug War" could be re-invested into our Schools and Social Security. There is taxation revenue being made which portions could fund programs to rehabilitate and educate users...There will always be casual users all the way to the down and out addict. Of course we would have alot of trigger happy DEA agents and SWAT Wierdos also looking for another job...maybe they could work as parking garage security of the new "Super Drug Store" that will be built right next door to Macys.Drug Dealers now need to go look for another job too! Maybe they can get a license to run a 24 hour Liquor/Pharmacy store and sell the now legal drugs to people who are of legal age.What I belive is my neighborhood would be a safer place to live. My kids would be taught as they are about alcohal. It is something Adults do. When you are old enough, you can decide for yourself if you want to try it. Keep in mind the reponsibilities and consequences of your actions before you do. This would be a truly free, democratic way of life, finally..how refreshing....DONT I WISH!...CANADA...Can I defect to your Country?
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Comment #5 posted by Poisoned1515Days on September 10, 2001 at 13:34:51 PT
mainstreaming is an old word - never mind
mainstreaming is an old word - never mind
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Comment #4 posted by Poisoned1515Days on September 10, 2001 at 13:26:37 PT
another sign
another sign that harm reduction is mainstreaming ( a new adverb? )
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Comment #3 posted by E. Johnson on September 10, 2001 at 12:25:35 PT
Demonization being replaced by pragmatism?
A demonization campaign is expensive, and no longer easy to maintain in the era of the Internet.Oh how will we remember the Clinton administration?By the marijuana demons they raised up and made dance before the public?Marijuana eats Christian babies!That's about the ony one they didn't use.
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Comment #2 posted by Sudaca on September 10, 2001 at 11:33:02 PT
one error
"Since legalizing drugs is a venture into the unknown, it may be wise to proceed in steps. But sooner or later, the human and other costs directly due to the continuing wars on drugs will force a new approach. "Well . how about up to the early 20th century? at least in respect to most drugs.. now, the prohibition experiences have had similar results everywhere; contraband becomes the big business and there's always willing "entrepreneurs" to take on the challenge. Witness the opium wars and the birth of riches for some of the old Yankee families who are now so respectable.
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Comment #1 posted by Silent_Observer on September 10, 2001 at 11:30:31 PT
Nice to see...
a truly mainstream magazine like Business Week publish this.
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