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Legalization Of Drugs
Legalization of Drugs Legalization of Drugs The drug connection is one that continues to resist analysis, both because cause and effect are so difficult to distinguish and because the role of the drug- prohibition laws in causing and labeling "drug-related crime" is so often ignored. There are four possible connections between drugs and crime, at least three of which would be much diminished if the drug-prohibition laws were repealed. "First, producing, selling, buying, and consuming strictly controlled and banned substances is itself a crime that occurs billions of times each year in the United States alone" (Lindsmith Center). In the absence of drug- prohibition laws, these activities would obviously stop being crimes. "Selling drugs to children would continue to be criminal, and other evasions of government regulation of a legal market would continue to be prosecuted; but by and large the drug connection that now accounts for all of the criminal-justice costs noted above would be severed" (Lindsmith Center). Second, many illicit-drug users commit crimes such as robbery and burglary, as well as drug dealing, prostitution, and many others, to earn enough money to purchase the relatively high-priced illicit drugs. "Unlike the millions of alcoholics who can support their habits for relatively modest amounts, many cocaine and heroin addicts spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars a week" (Lindsmith Center). If the drugs to which they are addicted were much cheaper- which would be the case if they were legalized-the number of crimes committed by drug addicts to pay for their habits would, in all likelihood, decline. Even if a legal-drug policy included the a demand of relatively high taxes in order to discourage consumption, drug prices would probably still be lower than they are today. The third drug connection is the commission of crimes- violent crimes in particular-by people under the influence of illicit drugs. "This connection seems to have the greatest impact upon the popular imagination" (Lindsmith Center). Clearly, some drugs do "cause" some people to commit crimes by reducing normal control, unleashing aggressive and other antisocial tendencies, and lessening the sense of responsibility. "Cocaine, particularly in the form of crack, has gained such a reputation in recent years, just as heroin did in the 1960s and 1970s, and marijuana did in the years before that. Crack's reputation for inspiring violent behavior may or may not be more deserved than those of marijuana and heroin. No illicit drug, however, is as widely associated with violent behavior as alcohol. According to Justice Department statistics, 54 percent of all jail inmates convicted of violent crimes in 1983 reported having used alcohol just prior to committing their offense. The impact of drug legalization on this drug connection is the most difficult to predict. Much would depend on overall rates of drug abuse and changes in the nature of consumption, both of which are impossible to predict. It is worth noting, however, that a shift in consumption from alcohol to marijuana would almost certainly contribute to a decline in violent behavior" (Lindsmith Center). The fourth drug link is the violent, intimidating, and corrupting behavior of the drug traffickers. Illegal markets tend to breed violence not only because they attract criminally-minded individuals, but also because participants in the market have no resort to legal institutions to resolve their disputes. According to the Lindsmith Center "During Prohibition, violent struggles between bootlegging gangs and hijackings of booze-laden trucks and sea vessels were frequent and notorious occurrences. Today's equivalents are the booby traps that surround some marijuana fields, the pirates of the Caribbean looking to rip off drug-laden vessels en route to the shores of the United States, and the machine gun battles and executions carried out by drug lords -- all of which occasionally kill innocent people. Most law-enforcement officials agree t... This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Academic Library. Please register below now!
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