COLUMN: Legalization of drugs has its benefits
It turns out the “war on terror” is not the only war our government is losing. The “war on drugs,” too, has been a national embarrassment. Decades of a draconian prohibition and zealous, often unconstitutional, law enforcement efforts to rid the country of illegal drugs have failed us.
We need to get serious about drafting an effective drug policy and lift dated taboos over drug legalization and decriminalization.
Now I know what you’re thinking: “If this guy wasn’t high when he wrote this, then he’s probably looking for cheaper pot.” Wrong. I’m just a concerned citizen upset that his tax dollars are being wasted.
Each year, we squander $42 billion dollars on this disastrous policy. But still, dangerous traffickers threaten our communities, hundreds of thousands of Americans are crowding our jails on dubious drug-related charges, and tons of illegal drugs flow across our borders unimpeded.
Expert analysis, based on government statistics, estimates that the illegal drug industry rakes in over $110 billion dollars a year. By banning drugs, the government has ceded all control of potentially dangerous substances to criminals. Those that peddle illegal drugs, then, can run an underground operation free of taxation, regulation, and price and quality control.
In legalizing the drugs in question, we deny criminals this lucrative market. The federal government could regulate drug production, under the auspices of the FDA, to ensure their quality and relative safety. And as with cigarettes and alcohol, the government could tax these drugs for revenue.
At the very least, we need to decriminalize many drugs. Drug use needs be perceived as a public health issue, not a crime. We only exacerbate problems when we maintain the current “lock ’em up” mentality. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, a record 829,625 Americans were arrested for violating marijuana laws last year. Of those arrested, 89 percent of those were charged with possession-not trafficking or selling, but nonviolent possession. This strikes me as an absurd policy. It diverts time and resources away from violent crime, sexual abuse, terrorism and a host of more pressing criminal issues.
The government’s obsessive fixation with marijuana is not in law enforcement’s interest either, as it has engendered distrust with millions of people who now view the police as an instrument of oppression, not protection.
The drug prohibition is politically motivated and the product of years of misinformation.
Many of today’s prohibited drugs were once legal and widely used in America. Throughout the 19th century, opium derivatives and marijuana were utilized in medicines for their pain-killing properties. All of these drugs were also used recreationally. Cocaine, as I’m sure you know, was even a common ingredient in Coca-Cola. It was only when these drugs became associated with minorities and, later, the anti-war movement that they became criminalized.
Apologists for the current policy warn of an inevitable increase of drug use if we end the prohibition. Their fears, however, are unfounded. In fact, there is likely to be little or no increase in drug use. For many, the appeal of drugs is their illegality-there is a lure to forbidden fruit. For example, the Dutch government reported a decrease in marijuana use among teens after the drug’s legalization.
And in the case that it does result in a slight increase of drug use? Let’s look to the repeal of alcohol’s prohibition: Consumption of beer and wine went up while consumption of hard liquor went down. So while there were more drinkers, there were fewer drunkards. Drug abuse or the use of hard drugs, in other words, would notably decrease. This would certainly be true with marijuana’s legalization. Countless people are unnecessarily exposed to hard drugs (like cocaine and heroin) as they are forced to buy marijuana from a criminal and underground market.
Proponents of prohibition have also convinced the American public that these drugs are illegal for a reason: They’re dangerous. The hard drugs are indeed dangerous, but incalculably more so because of their prohibition. Again, if legalized, their production and use could be regulated. Marijuana’s illegality, however, cannot be attributed to its health risks, because compared to alcohol and tobacco, both of which are legal, marijuana is incredibly safe.
After extensive research, the American Medical Association has concluded that marijuana presents only negligible health risks. It is not an addictive substance, with only a small fraction of users becoming psychologically dependent. Marijuana is much less toxic than alcohol. Heavy drinking damages the brain and liver, increases the risk for several cancers and is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Marijuana, in contrast, has never caused a medically documented overdose death. And it is roundly acknowledged that marijuana poses little threat to others; it does not incite violence or aggression-quite the opposite, actually.
It’s time we check the current drug policy into rehab. A “drug free America,” while perhaps ideal, is unrealistic. Instead, let’s aim to first, curb drug abuse and prohibition-generated crime, and second, establish a reasonable regulatory system for at least some illicit substances.