NCJ Number
169256
Date Published
1998
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This chapter presents arguments in favor of legalizing drugs.
Abstract
America's war against illicit drugs has failed on three fronts: destroying drug sources, intercepting drugs at America's borders and arresting drug dealers ad users. The war on drugs repeated Prohibition's mistake: the harder society tried to stamp out the evil of drugs, the more lucrative it became and the more it spread. A better strategy for combating the drug problem would be to legalize the illicit drugs, which are, on the whole, far less dangerous than the legal drugs that many more people consume. Legalization would immediately reduce drug-related crime and corruption and would strike a significant blow against drug traffickers and dealers. Evidence shows that legalization will also reduce regular drug use and experimentation. Legalization means that the government would maintain regulatory control over drug sales, possibly through state clinics or stores. It would free law enforcement agencies to focus on other crimes, reduce the strain on the court and prison systems and allow money wasted on interdiction of illicit drugs to be used for treatment, education and research.