NCJ Number
129246
Date Published
1990
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Drugs do not cause the recent alarming crime rates in this country, drug prohibition does.
Abstract
The first result of drug prohibition is crime. Experts estimate that at least half of the violent crime in major U.S. cities is committed by users. Dealers have no nonviolent way to settle disputes with each other. Another effect of prohibition is corruption. Prohibition raises prices which leads to extraordinary profits that are an irresistible temptation to policemen, customs officers, and others. A third result is bringing buyers into contact with criminals. The very illegality of the drug business attracts people who are already criminals. Another effect is the creation of stronger drugs. The more intense the law enforcement, the more potent the drugs. The fifth effect of drug prohibition is the spread of AIDS. About 25 percent of AIDS cases are contracted through intravenous drug use caused by the sharing of needles. A sixth effect of prohibition is the abuse of civil liberties. It now appears that the drug authorities can punish American citizens by seizing their cars or boats, not after indictment or conviction, but after nothing more than an allegation by a police officer. Legalization would not solve all of the drug problems, but it would make the cities safer, make drug use healthier, eliminate a major source of revenue for organized crime, reduce corruption here and abroad, and make honest work more attractive to more city youth.