Legalize Drugs Now Summary

Cussen, Meaghan, and Walter Block. "Legalize Drugs Now!: An Analysis of the Benefits of Legalized Drugs." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 59.3 (2000): 525-36. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
This report discusses the impacts of legalizing narcotics and the effects that this has on crime, economy and societal safety. Legalizing drugs will cause regulation and with this there will be less crime since gang violence such as shootouts, which often involve murders of innocent civilians, can be settled in courts. The drug business creates great profit opportunities for the cartels, which are involved in international terrorism acts and cause an increase in America’s crime rate. By having the narcotics market open, drug revenues would be equally

The goal of drug prohibition was to prevent crime by removing access to mind altering drugs. Ironically, prohibition has created additional opportunities for criminal activity such as robbery, burglary, and prostitution, all mostly committed in order to pay for the high prices of drugs. The war on drugs has caused for a smaller amount of teenagers to be regular marijuana smokers, however, consumption of every other type of drug and deaths associated with them continue to rise. The black market for narcotics dealers continues to manufacture more potent drugs as individuals switch from ‘softer’ drugs such as marijuana, which are less potent, to more potent drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. The prohibition of drugs also increases the demand for new ‘designer drugs’ or synthetic drugs, which are a thousands times more potent than opium. In the history of prohibition there has been a constant pattern that the black markets produce low quality, highly potent, and dangerous products. By legalizing drugs, there will be a decrease in the crime rates, the justice system will be able to focus on the ‘actual’ criminals, and the private sector will create jobs and government fund towards the prohibition of drugs can be better spend on more effective methods. The war on drugs is an ongoing problem because

The prohibition of drugs also increases the demand for new ‘designer drugs’ or synthetic drugs, which are a thousands times more potent than opium. In the history of prohibition there has been a constant pattern that the black markets produce low quality, highly potent, and dangerous products.
• The DEA classifies drugs into 5 categories – schedule 1, schedule 2, schedule 3, schedule 4 and schedule 5. Schedule 1 drugs are classified as being the most potent and addictive yet marijuana and heroin are put into the same category. While cocaine and meth are classified as schedule 2. If drug users are going to be punished equally for using marijuana and heroin than the users are more likely to use the more potent