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Legalization of Drugs
Each year 1,600 innocent people are needlessly killed each year at the
hands of drug criminals (Ostrowski 27). Enormous amounts of money are
spent each year in the fight against drugs. Furthermore, there are actually
sick people that need marijuana to ease their suffering. These are a few
of the reasons why I believe that the legalization of marijuana would not
only improve society, but the economy as well.
Before writing this paper, I was under the impression that all drugs
and anything that has to do with them are bad. However, as my research
deepened, I found that there are more positives than negatives that would
arise from the legalization of marijuana.
First of all, the crime rate in the United States would significantly
reduce. The shoot-outs between drug dealers will end. Miller and Benjamin
state that the violence provided by "turf wars" and by drug deals gone awry
would fall to the level that exists in legal industries - zero (174).
The places where most of those shoot-outs occur, the inner city, would
change the most after the legalization of marijuana. A lot of the kids
there idolize drug dealers. They see a person with designer clothes, a
black Mercedes, gold chains, and big smile on their face. That drug dealer
seems like the most successful person in the neighborhood. It's very easy
to want to follow in the footsteps of someone like this. Legalization
would greatly reduce the profits of drug dealers. Kids would emulate the
people they're supposed to. These role models include teachers, doctors,
law enforcement, etc.
That is not the only aspect of life in the inner city that would
change. The gangs that flourished from the profits of selling crack would
become "small-time" gangs. These gangs would have nothing better to do
than protect their "turf". Some of the more popular gangs are "The Bloods"
and "The Crips".
Those kinds of gangs are not the only ones that would weaken
significantly as a result of the legalization of marijuana. The biggest
gang of all, The Mafia, would take a hard hit as well. However, they would
not disappear completely. Organized crime would be able to survive in
other criminal activities like loan-sharking, gambling, prostitution, and
child pornography.
Furthermore, Crock wouldn't totally disappear with the legalization of
drugs. Benjamin and Miller also state that there is strong, evidence that
suggests that it would cease being the drug of choice for many (175). They
believe that just as the years following the prohibition of alcohol, people
will choose a lower potency of their particular drug. The people that
choose to sell crack after legalization won't make more money selling it
than selling cosmetics or used cars.
Another major effect of drug legalization would be that it would "free
up" law enforcement to catch other criminals. Violent career criminals
commit anywhere from 50 to 100 violent crimes per year. These crimes
include robbery, rape, and murder. I believe that this is one of the most
important benefits resulting from legalization. Not only will it give law
enforcement less to worry about, but it will make everyday society a better
and safer place to live.
Moreover, the economy will benefit greatly from legalization.
Actually, the economic impact of legalization would be tremendous.
Ostrowski states that the estimated annual black market drug sales are in
the amount of 80 billion dollars (28). Black market prices for drugs are
inflated greatly. At the very least, they are inflated 10 times over what
the legal price would most likely be. That is 70 billion dollars that the
government can tax. Those tax dollars can be used to improve education,
highways, public parks, etc.
Also, there are many government agencies and groups dedicated
exclusively to fighting the drug war. Courts, police, prisons are all part
of this fight against drugs in the United States. The cost of running all
these agencies is 10 billion dollars a year. If you really think about it,
each dollar that is spent on drug enforcement yields seven dollars in
economic loss (Ostrowski 29). In other words, the government takes 10
billion dollars from taxpayers and uses it to raise 80 billion dollars for
drug dealers and organized crime. That figure is staggering. Moreover,
Ostrowski also states that poor users victimize taxpayers by stealing 7.5
billion dollars from them (29).
Also, you must take into account the amount of lost productivity these
people involved in the drug business are in. These people are devoting
their time and energy into a business that is not legal. The available
work force in the United States would increase with the legalization of
drugs. There are also those people that spend their whole day "hustling"
to pay for their drugs.
The 10 billion dollars spent fighting drugs does not include the
amount of money spent on drug related illnesses. These would be AIDS,
hepatitis, and overdose (Bertram, preface XII). There is also money being
spent on private security to fight drug-related crime.
There is currently a bill in the state of California that has yet to
be passed. It's not certain that it that it will ever pass. The name of
this bill is Proposition 215. This bill would allow sick people to use and
grow small amounts of marijuana. A survey in taken in this state showed
that 57% of people oppose the legalization of marijuana (no author 2).
Although the general idea of this bill is to make the drug available
to those in great pain, it's wording actually gives its true intentions
away. It reads "Growing and using marijuana would be approved for a list
of ailments, including chronic pain, arthritis, migraine and any other
illness for which marijuana provides relief" (Leo 23). Proposition 215
also states that "physicians cannot be sanctioned in any way for
recommending marijuana to any patient that seeks it. This would make
obtaining pot legally slightly higher than buying Advil (Leo 23).
Finally, I truly believe that the legalization of drugs in the United
States would not only improve society, but the economy as well. It's
really sad to see the government use our tax money to fight a losing war
on drugs. What's also sad are the number of people devoting their time and
energy into selling and trafficking illegal drugs. Proposition 215 would
be a good start in the legalization of drugs. However, I believe that the
legalization of drugs in the United States will never happen in all 50
states.
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