Transcript Prohibition versus Legalization

Prohibition versus
Legalization
Do Economists Reach a
Conclusion on Drug Policy?
by
Mark Thornton
What to do?
 Keep current policy on drug prevention?
 Increase spending and efforts?
 Decriminalize and/or legalize drugs?
War on Drugs
 Economists have at the forefront of the
debate.
 Criticism of ineffectiveness
 Unintended Consequences
 Violent crime
 Corruption of police
 Corruption of public officials
War on Drugs
 Costs (2005):
 US Gov’t cost report on drug control; $12b
 In a separate US Gov’t report;
 Incarceration:
$30.1b
 Police protection:
$9.1b
 Legal costs:
$4.5b
 State & Fed corrections: $11.0b
 Total :
$34.7
Survey of Economists
 15% favored status quo
 21% favored increased efforts
 58% favored a change in policy
 71% favored legalization or decriminalization
 <2% favored stiffer sentences and increased
enforcement budgets
Survey of Americans
 36% favored legalization or controlled
distribution of most drugs
 40% believe decriminalization of cocaine
would reduce violent crime
 3-1 margin preferred addiction treatment
and counseling for drug users over fines
and/or imprisonment
Demographic Characteristics
 Characteristic
Reformers









Male
Female
White
Nonwhite
College or more
Grade School
Professional/Farmer
Clerical/manual
High and Middle
Low
Young and Middle50+ years
Northeast and West
South
Jewish or none
Protestant
Independent
Dem. and Rep.
Sex
Race
Education
Occupation
Income level
Age
Region
Religion
Politics
Prohibitionists
Positions Against
 The permanent reduction in price caused
by legalization is likely to have a
substantial positive effect on use,
particularly among the poor and young
 Prohibition shows that the society can
make a dent in the consumption of drugs
through laws.
Positions Against
 The estimate of al the effects of drug use
needs to be improved substantially before
it can be determined whether the benefits
outweigh the costs of decriminalization.
 The elasticity of demand is not zero;
 Decriminalization will sharply lower prices
 Will lead to a noticeable increase in use of
drugs, new users and addicts
Positions For
 Taxpayers, who are usually not associated
with illegal drug activity, foot the bill of the
war on drugs
 Tax revenues from legalized drugs could
fund drug education and rehab
Positions For
 Prohibition has, at least in part, led to;





Increase in street crime
Increase in gang activity
Police corruption
Congested courts
Overcrowded prisons
 The repeal of alcohol prohibition led to the
demise of bootleggers
Conclusion
 The general consensus among drug-policy
researchers and economists is in
opposition to prohibition
 Still, only timidly in support of
decriminalization and even more timidly in
favor of legalization
Conclusion
 The ONLY feasible way to eliminate the
black market for drugs is to legalize them
 The legalization of drugs will lead to some,
maybe different but nonetheless, problems
 Much more research needs to be
conducted before a legalization policy is
enacted
Work Cited
 Thornton, Mark 2007. Prohibition versus legalization. The Independent
Review, Winter 2007, pp417-433.