Feb
27
Should we Legalize Drugs?
February 27, 2008 | | 1 Comment
By wanching
Of course not.
The global drug trade is estimated to be worth around US$ 400 billion, roughly equivalent to the GDP of Australia. Some thus argue that governments worldwide should legalize drugs to cut one of the main revenue sources of criminal syndicates. The rationale goes, when drug revenues are equally distributed by free-market forces, they would have less of a chance of supporting terrorist organizations and other crime rings. Proponents of drug legalization believe that such revenue would be channeled to government coffers, although the likely outcome would be an increasing number of drug addicts who would require detoxification or rehabilitation programmes to cure themselves of their addiction. And needless to say, these rehab institutions and programmes would have to be funded by public money. It is therefore uncertain whether the revenue generated from the now legal drugs will be able to offset the extra strain it puts on the government purse.
In fact, it is even doubtful if the criminal syndicates will suffer a fall in revenue from drug trade. Unless drugs are not only decriminalized, but also regulated at an extremely low price so that everyone will be able to afford an unlimited supply of cheap drugs, a black market for drugs will still exist, allowing the crime rings to rake in huge profits. So really, what purpose does legalization serve? It will only aggravate an already very serious problem, causing no significant destruction to the illegal drug dealers at a cost to both the government’s coffers and public health.
The community will also have a price to pay with the legalization of drugs. It has already been established both medically and scientifically that drug users are prone to behave in violent ways because of the psychological damage drugs cause to our brain. Yes, if drugs become legal, they would become more readily available, and fewer people would have to resort to criminal means to obtain them. But then more crimes would likely be committed by people under the influence of drugs. Illegal drugs can turn legal overnight once the legislation is in force, but the psychopathic behaviour they cause just won’t disappear all of the sudden, whether drugs are legal or not. Tax money spent on cracking illegal drug dealings may decrease, but more money and resources will inevitably be devoted to catching people who commit crimes under drugs’ intoxicating influence. Besides, decriminalizing drugs will be seen as the government’s implicit endorsement of drug use, and send a message of tolerance to the public. Legalization proponents would argue that as in the case for alcohol, drug itself should not be criminalized. It is only the abusive behaviour that ensues that should be penalized, just like you would not be arrested for getting drunk, unless you are caught speeding afterwards. So, by the same token, drug users should not be penalized unless they engage in criminal acts under the influence of drugs. They believe this is the best way for the government to uphold citizens’ constitutional right and civil liberty. Anyone has their own right to choose whether to use drugs without government interference, of course, but what about the safety concern of other members of the public? An increased number of drug users certainly poses a potential threat to the public, and prohibiting the use of substance that may damage health right from the start would be necessary to eliminate this threat. Even Nobel economist Milton Freedman, who vehemently supported drug legalization, agreed that the government would play a significant role in drug regulation even after drugs are legalized. It is just wishful thinking that drug users will be totally free of constraints from the government when drugs become legal.
Drugs harm people, no doubt about it. However, in any modern society, it is just inevitable that there exist some kinds of bad and evil. It just does not make sense for a government to legalize anything that it cannot regulate. Murders and robberies occur even under the best law enforcement systems in the world, but we cannot really legalize them, can we? So what about drugs?
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For an alternate view, look here
http://blogs.ft.com/maverecon/2008/02/legalize-regulahtml/