NCJ Number
136506
Journal
Hofstra Law Review Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1990) Pages: 607-702
Date Published
1990
Length
96 pages
Annotation
This article presents a comprehensive argument for the legalization of consciousness-altering drugs.
Abstract
In Part I the methodology of drug policy analysis is explored. Drug prohibition is defined as "the initiation of physical force against persons engaged in nonviolent actions and voluntary transactions involving prohibited drugs," and legalization is defined as the "removal of such force to a greater or lesser degree depending upon the form of legalization adopted in a particular State or nation." In Part II a moral argument for drug legalization is presented. The theories of two contemporary philosophers, Douglas Rasmussen and Hans-Hermann Hoppe, are discussed. Despite the fact that Rasmussen and Hoppe start from different premises, both arrive at the conclusion that individuals have a moral right of self-ownership. Part III presents a cost-benefit analysis of drug prohibition. The major costs of prohibition include categories of crime costs, medical costs, economic costs, and miscellaneous costs. The article concludes that prohibition stimulates crime and reduces the ability of the criminal justice system to address violent crime and dangerous criminals. Prohibition inherently threatens civil liberties and destroys the social structure of the poorest neighborhoods. 459 footnotes