Pot... should be legalized, taxed, and the money used to treat addicts of more dangerous drugs. Treatment of crack heads and heroin addicts is cheaper than imprisoning them.A number of respected conservative economists such as Milton Friedman and George Schultz have made the case for legalizing all drugs, not just marijuana. In theory, legalization would eliminate the huge profits reaped by dope peddlers large and small if addicts could suddenly obtain their daily fix cheaply and safely from legal sources. While I would love to see the bad guys put out of business, legalization in practice would create a host of new problems. And I don't see how making drugs cheaper and letting either Big Pharma or mom and pop stores jump into the market is supposed to put any dent in demand, which is the key to winning the war.
The War On Drugs is an expensive, dismal failure and the only people interested in keeping it going are prison guard unions, for-profit prison operators, and politicians trying to look butch. Originally Posted by ExNYer
Treatment of addicts would rduce demand for drugs - in theory. I know there are studies purporting to show how treatment of addicts is cheaper than imprisoning them, but I think many of those studies are skewed by counting the entire DEA budget and half of all US law enforcement and court system costs in the comparison. Many addicts view admission to a treatment program as a free vacation before returning to the streets or a way to "serve time" comfortably without going to prison. If treatment had an 80-90% success rate I have no doubt most Americans would view it as a good investment - but that's more likely to be the relapse/recidivism rate than the success rate. The Addiction Treatment Industry can trot out hundreds of tear-jerking individual success stories to lobby for more government funding, but I'm still skeptical of its overall efficacy.
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