NCJ Number
153446
Journal
American Heritage Dated: (February-March 1993) Pages: 42-56
Date Published
1993
Length
15 pages
Annotation
These two articles present the arguments for and against drug legalization.
Abstract
The paper advocating drug legalization emphasizes that the basic issue is ending drug prohibition and argues that drug prohibition is responsible for much of what the public now considers to be the drug problem. These include the direct costs, the burden on the courts and prisons, the incarceration rate higher than that of any other country in the world, the diversion of tax dollars from education and health care, and the diversion of law enforcement resources from other crimes are among the problems of the current policy. Murders and assaults perpetrated by drug dealers against one another, the police, witnesses, and bystanders are another major problem. The argument against legalization points out that even the proponents of legalization concede that widespread availability, lower prices, and the elimination of criminal sanctions would result in more drug users, some of whom would inevitably become addicts. It also notes that illegal sales would continue, not only to minors but also to pilots, police officers, fire fighters, drivers of public transportation, surgeons, military personnel, and others whose drug use would jeopardize public safety and who would be denied access to drugs under the revised laws. Furthermore, interstate smuggling would be inevitable due to the variations in State tax laws related to drugs. Thus, society should ask whether it wants to risk an unknown but possibly substantial increase in drug abuse and addiction to bring about an unknown reduction in illicit trafficking and other costs of drug prohibition. Photographs