Legalization

This week the cover of The Economist boasts “How to stop the drug wars” and shows a witty little picture of a skull outlined by guns and a cannabis leaf. The image is jarring and the subject thought provoking. How do you stop the drug wars?

The British newsweekly concludes that the least of all evils is to legalize drugs … across the globe.

They make some excellent points and their overall argument sounds reasonable, and, I must admit, I have given thought about the legalization of certain illegal things as viable options – prostitution and marijuana are two examples. Legalized prostitution would, in theory vastly improve the lives of prostitutes – they could unionize, get benefits, arrange for proper healthcare and disease prevention/treatment, there would be extensive regulation etc. Marijuana is already legally used for medicinal purposes and is arguably a safer drug than either alcohol or tobacco, yet it remains illegal.

The problem that I run into with the legalization of “drugs” in general is that, while some drugs may be fine for general consumption, I can’t really picture the safe use of drugs like heroine or LSD. It can be argued, though, and is, that legalizing all drugs will allow for several positive things.

First is that drug abuse would be treated as a medical issue instead of a criminal issue, a huge benefit to drug abusers and the legal system. Legalization would also allow for the regulation of drugs, stopping the practice of lacing street drugs (already dangerous by themselves) with pharmaceuticals to boost profit. This regulation would also eliminate a black market and organized crime from the mix (mostly. There is still a large organized crime presence surrounding tobacco and alcohol, so it wouldn’t disappear completely). Drug education could also become much more mainstream in schools, warning kids of the negative effects of drugs (like we already do with tobacco and alcohol) in the hopes that education will reduce drug abuse.

Perhaps the most beneficial reason for legalizing drugs in light of the world’s economic woes is the huge influx of cash from the inevitable drug tax. Tobacco and alcohol already have hefty taxes imposed on them (tobacco especially) and people still buy booze and cigarettes in droves. The amount of users that a tax would scare away would likely be offset by the amount of new users that legalization would bring to drug stores (ha!).

But therein lies another issue. Do we want to invite drug use? It’s a measured risk, really. New drug revenue could fund drug education and treatment for abuse, and a more educated public, in theory, would use drugs in moderation, the assumption already used for alcohol consumption.

It’s a thorny issue, legalization, and there is no easy answer. But as The Economist and most every statistic I could find shows, the War on Drugs is not going well. The solution will not be easy, and it likely will not be unanimously loved, but who knows, maybe legalization really can be a viable option. I mean, look how successful prohibition was in the US…