NCJ Number
129249
Date Published
1990
Length
32 pages
Annotation
Legalization is offered as a solution to the "drug-problem problem" -- the crime, corruption, and AIDS caused not by the biochemical effects of illegal drugs but the attempt to fight drug use with the criminal justice system. The focus is on how effective drug laws are in preventing damage from drugs compared with the amount of injury that the laws themselves cause.
Abstract
Supporters of prohibition must demonstrate that: (1) drug use would increase substantially after legalization; (2) the harm caused by any increased use would not be offset by the increased safety of legal drug use; (3) the harm caused by any increased use would not be offset by a reduction in the use of dangerous drugs that are already legal; and (4) that the harm caused by any increased drug use not offset by (2) or (3) would exceed the harm now caused by the side effects of prohibition. In the absence of data supporting those propositions, neither the theoretical danger of illegal drugs nor their actual harmful effects can be a sufficient basis for prohibition. It is clear that most of the serious problems that the public associates with illegal drug use are caused directly or indirectly by drug prohibition. 1 figure and 1 table