Over the last couple of years, small victories have been won in the argument against the war on drugs. Recreational marijuana use has been decriminalized in 7 states, and 10 states have laws on the books regarding the substance’s use for medical purposes. It seems clear that public opinion, as well as legislation are moving away from prohibition as an effective method of crime prevention in regards to marijuana.
But what about other substances? Though it is true that marijuana carries less health risk, both individual and societal, than “hard” drugs like heroin and cocaine, is there a sound argument against the legalization of other intoxicants?
Of course, it is true that many drugs are harmful to the health of the user. But is that a good cause for criminalization? Many things we put in our bodies and many actions that we take cause us physical harm, yet they remain legal. It is rare to find an argument that tobacco or alcohol cause no harm, but the consensus seems to be that the choice is up to the individual.
Crime, especially violent crime and theft, is obviously correlated with drug use. This is also true of crime along the Mexican-American border. Lobbyists and politicians like Patrick Kennedy have used this fact as an argument in favor of continued drug criminalization. The same arguments were used to push the 18th amendment through Congress in 1920. Organized crime, especially violent crime, skyrocketed.
When a substance or product is legalized, the black market for the product is destroyed, or at least weakened substantially. Cartels operating out of foreign nations no longer have a strong market to exploit. The ease of access to said product causes prices to drop. When something desirable becomes affordable, users are no longer forced to turn to theft, burglary, or robbery to afford their habit. American money no longer goes to international criminals. It stays right here.
The financial benefits of legalization with regulation have already been seen. $2.4 billion has been pumped into the Colorado economy since marijuana was legalized for recreational purposes. That money goes to maintaining an ailing infrastructure, as well as educational funding.
Drugs are bad for you; few people would argue against that. But the fact of the matter is that it is every person’s own business what they put into their body. No government can legislate the nature of human desire out of existence. No government has the right to try. Addiction is a public health issue, and should be treated as such. Honest, factual education is far stronger a tool than harsh and arbitrary punishment. Being “tough on crime”, stocking American prisons with petty drug offenders, might get a politician plenty of “values” votes, but it has done, and will continue to, do little to solve the problem. It will only perpetuate it.
