An Argument For The Legalization Of Drugs, Based On John Stuart Mills' "Revised Harm Principle"

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is a contributing (or non-detracting) member of
society, it is clear that more harm is done to others if the user must resort to
illegal methods to obtain his drugs. The very act of buying drugs is
intrinsically illegal and carries the threat of establishing a criminal record
for the buyer. This can have a devastating effect on his family, his lifestyle,
and his career. The effects on society as a whole include more crowded jail
cells (prompting politicians to demand more jails be built), higher taxes to
support these jails, and the loss, or at least diminution, of a productive
citizen. In order to buy drugs illegally, the user may be forced to expose
himself to the fringes of the criminal world--something he would never do under
any other circumstances. If drugs were legalized, the criminal stigma would be
removed from their purchase, possession, and use. The government would collect
taxes on drug sales and, conversely, would not be spending millions of dollars
to stem the ...

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