NCJ Number
137464
Date Published
1992
Length
276 pages
Annotation
Directed to urban policymakers, sociologists, economists, criminologists, and drug treatment specialists, this analysis of the effects of current drug control policies in the United States emphasizes the relationship between public policy and urban economic development and details how the drug economy has become thoroughly intertwined with the urban economy.
Abstract
The discussion describes how the underground market in illegal drugs undermines the essential institutions necessary for promoting long-term economic growth including respect for civil liberties, private property, and nonviolent conflict resolution. The author argues that the cities of the United States can be revitalized only through a major restructuring of the urban economy that does not rely on drug trafficking as a primary source of employment and income and that this situation is the inadvertent outcome of the current prohibitionist policy. The discussion concludes that decriminalization of the major drugs (marijuana, cocaine, and heroin) is an important first step toward addressing the economic and social needs of depressed inner cities. It demonstrates how decriminalization would refocus public policy on the human dimension of drug abuse and addiction, acknowledge that the cities face severe development problems that promote underground economic activity, and restructure drug policy on principles consistent with limited government as contained in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Foreword by Kurt Schmoke, figures, tables, chapter reference notes, and index