There is a perception that we are in the declining phase of a drug epidemic that began in the 60’s, and that perception has stimulated debate regarding the legalization of drugs in the United States. Those who oppose the legalization of drugs contend that their legalization would remove some of the social and psychological barriers associated with drug use, and that consequently drug use would increase (Grossman, Chaloupka, and Shim, 2002). Many think that even were drugs to be legalized there would still exist a parallel black market in drugs, along with the legal market, and that this black market would aim to target the juvenile drug consumer (UNODC, 2010). Furthermore, juvenile drug prevention programs would make little sense were drugs to become legal (UNODC, 2010).
People who favor the legalization of drugs point out that not only are law enforcement agencies and of our judicial system not controlling the use of drugs, the prohibition of drugs is actually stimulating a great deal of crime (Cussen and Block, 2000). They also argue that the high costs of housing drug offenders in prisons diverts funds away from other more urgent social and law enforcement needs, and that the legalization of drugs would bring in revenues to help fund our strapped social and educational programs (Cussen and Block, 2000). The most vocal proponents of the legalization of drugs believe that our current drug policies threaten our civic liberties, foster the spread of disease, and are even immoral because drug users are stigmatized and marginalized by society and there are a significantly larger percentage of non-white criminal drug offenders serving prison terms than are white offenders for the same crimes (Cussen and Block, 2000).
However, there is considerable disagreement amongst those who favor the legalization of drugs as to whether all drugs should be legalized, or only some of the less controversial ones (Cussen and Block, 2000). They also disagree as to what the consequences of the legalization of drugs would be, who should control their use, how is their use to be controlled, and although they all predict large revenues from the legalization of drugs, there is no consensus regarding the allocation of profits from the controlled sales of these drugs, although most agree that at least some of those funds would have to be used to manage drug-related problems and for drug research and prevention (Cussen and Block, 2000). But whether people agree or disagree, in the end, it is all about the money.
According to Thoumi (2005), drug trafficking accounts for roughly 25% of the world economy. The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime estimates that between 3.5-5.7% of the world population used an illegal drug at least once in 2008 (UNODC, 2010). In 2008, the global criminal market for cocaine alone was estimated to be around US$88 billion, with North America representing the most valuable market at US$37 billion, although the number of cocaine users has dropped by 50% since 1982, down to 5.3 million from a population of 10.5 million users. However, based on seizures of illegal drugs, UNODC estimates that marijuana remains the most widely used drug, with roughly 4% of the world population using it at least once in 2008. The revenues from marijuana could not be determined because the marijuana market has a large local base comprising thousands of small independent growers, and there are wide variations in price; nevertheless, marijuana revenues in the United States are believed to surpass those of cocaine, even though marijuana use appears to be in long-term decline in the United States. Other drugs in the US market include amphetamine-type drugs like the “club drug” ecstasy, ketamine, and opiates, but revenues from their criminal sales do not approach those of either marijuana or cocaine. The bottom line is that the US criminal market for drugs is enormous and that the legalization of drugs would pour massive amounts of money into our economy from their controlled sales.
However, there are other, and perhaps more compelling, reasons for legalizing recreational drugs. One is that current drug policies do not address the social and economic factors that lead to the criminal use of drugs (Grossman, Chaloupka, and Shim, 2002; Thoumi, 2005). Legalization would send the message that drug use is a social and not a criminal justice issue, and help us deal with drug abuse from a social construct. Legalization of drugs would also set aside a whole group of laws that are used in great disproportion against minorities and help address social inequalities. This approach would also stop the spread of misinformation by policy makers who hope to scare people away from drugs, but who in fact increase the risks and dangers of drug abuse. Valid information is critical for combating the problems associated with drug use and to make drug use safer; countries with the harshest drug policies also have the highest rates of diseases associated with drug use, like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C (Grossman, Chaloupka, and Shim, 2002). As we can see, the prohibition of drugs is associated with a complex array of problems, and while the legalization of drugs is not going to solve all the problems associated with drug use and inherent in their prohibition, it might help to solve some of the problems in the immediate future.
Works Cited
Cussen, Meaghan, and Walter Block. “Legalize Drugs Now!: An Analysis of the Benefits
of Legalized Drugs.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology 59.3 (2000):
525-536. Print.
Grossman, Michael, Frank J. Chaloupka, and Kyumin Shim. Illegal Drug Use And Public
Policy Health Aff 21.2 (2002): 134-145. Print.
Thoumi, Francisco E. “The Numbers Game: Let’s All Guess the Size of the Illegal Drug
Industry!” Journal of Drug Issues (2005): 185-200. Print.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. “World Drug Report 2010.” New York, NY:
United Nations (2010). Retrieved from:
http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2010/World_Drug_Report_2010_lo-res.pdf
