How to End the Violence:Legalize Drugs

By Heidi SchweizerMarch 27, 2009

THE WAR ON DRUGS

Current Relevancy

Mexico’s drug related violence has killed more than 9,000 people since December 2006.

Medical Marijuana is legal some states, like California, but is illegal on the federal level.

Many public officials have used illegal substances.

Everybody’s doing it…(just kidding).

Users

Drug Lifetime Past Year Past Month

Any Illicit Drug 46% 14.9% 8.3%

Marijuana 40.4% 11% 6.2%

Cocaine 14.4% 2.5% 0.9%

Crack 3.6% 0.7% 0.2%

Heroin 0.16% 0.2% 0.1

Hallucinogens 14.6% 2% 0.5

LSD 10.4% 0.4% 0%

PCP 3.2% 0.1% 0%

Inhalants 9.7% 0.9% 0.3%

Common Myths If drugs are legalized,

more people will do drugsFalse: “There is no correlation between the harshness of drug laws and the incidence of drug taking” (The Economist).

All drugs are bad. False: Many drugs, especially marijuana, have medical uses.

What we can learn from Prohibition

•Prohibition led to binge drinking

•Prohibition Increased the consumption of hard liquor.

•While total alcohol consumption declined, the number of alcoholics increased.

•Thousands of people were blinded, paralyzed, or killed as a result of drinking contaminated bootleg alcohol.

•The price did not rise as much as we would expect

•Prohibition led to the rise of organized crime

The Social Cost of the War on Drugs: Law Enforcement

The U.S. alone spends around $40 billion a year to for law enforcement against the war on drugs.

Examples:• DEA• FBI• Border Patrol• Local Enforcement

Agencies• Aid money to

Columbia and the Dominican Republic etc.

Yet, as we have spent increasingly more money, drug use has continued at the same rate.

The Social Cost of the War on Drugs: Prison and Discrimination

The U.S. arrests 1.5 million people a year for drug related charges.

About 1/3 of those arrested go to jail. Prisoners cost about

$30,000 dollars a year each.

African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately represented in prison populations.

The Social Cost of the War on Drugs: Violence

Citizens cannot use the court system to settle drug related disputes.

Drug enforcement “crowds out” enforcement in other sectors, for example the enforcement of property rights.

Law officers cause violence through enforcement.

The criminalization of drugs leads to network of organized criminals. • Triads• Yakuza • La Eme• Mafia.

The Social Cost of the War on Drugs: Violations of Rights

You do not own your body.

Both federal and state enforcement agencies can seize your money, house, cars, etc. simply on suspicion of drug crimes.

A Sum of the Costs of the Drug War

Government bureaucratic and law enforcement costs

Overcrowded prisons at $30,000 per prisoner Racial tension and discrimination

A Sum of the Costs of the Drug War

Organized crime Increased Violence Increased homicide Violation of liberty

Violation of property rights

The Benefits of Legalization

Less Violence

Less crime

Less organized crime

Less spending on law enforcement

More accurate information

More reliable quality

More options available to doctors

Helping the Sick: Medicinal Marijuana

Medicinal marijuana could help people with:• Nausea • Pain• Muscle Spasms• Glaucoma• Epilepsy• Multiple Sclerosis• AIDS• Migraines

The American College of Physicians (ACP) endorses lifting regulations on the medicinal use of marijuana.

Negative Externalities Example1: People who drive while influenced could hurt

others. We could reallocate the resources spent on pursuing drug users and supplier to preventing DWIs.

Example 2: Drugs harm fetuses.A lack of the availability of clean needles also causes babies to be born with HIV.

Example 3: It would burden the healthcare system. Possibly true, but if drugs shorten the lifespan of people, we could end up spending less than we would have on Social Security and Medicare.

A commonly proposed method of internalizing the negative externalities of drug abuse is to issue a pigouvian tax.

What about morality? Prohibition causes violence.

Prohibition allows criminals to get rich.

Prohibition increases the number of children born HIV infected.

Prohibition prevents patients, many of whom are terminally ill, from lessening their suffering.MORALLY, PROHIBITION IS THE WORST CHOICE

FOR ADDRESSING DRUG ABUSE.

Suggested Readings The United Nations 2008 World Drug

Report Drug War Crimes: The Consequences

of Prohibition by Jeffrey A. Miron Organized Crime by Paul Lunde