Drug Legalization
Although it is apparent that America's drug plague is reaching epidemic proportions, costing US taxpayers an estimated 20 billion dollars in a year, the legalization of drugs cannot be economically justified. Despite pro-legalization arguments, the estimated economic benefit that would be derived from the legalization of drugs would not compare to the enormous social-economic costs that would result. The main assumption that is made concerning the legalization of drugs is that taxes on drugs could raise large amounts of revenue. First, this assumption is simply untrue if compared to the tax revenues collected on alcohol, a legal drug. The total tax revenue from the sale of alcohol is $13.1 billion a year while alcohol extracts over $100 billion a year in social costs. (Magginnis, 2001) This assumption also does not take into consideration that legalization would perpetuate the criminal black market. Government regulations on drug sales would open the doors to cheaper, more potent drugs being offered to under-aged users who could not obtain the legal version. This criminal sale of drugs would continue the need to spend money funding additional law enforcement and judicial personnel. The legalization of drugs would also
In conclusion, the argument for the legalization of drugs just doesn't hold water. It is estimated that it will cost $15 billion to prepare these children for kindergarten, and will then cost between $6 billion and $12 billion for every year of special learning and will run approximately $90 billion by the time they graduate from high school. It has already been proven that drug use and abuse is reduced by drug prohibition. As globalization makes the problem of creating economic and social opportunity for the most disadvantaged all the harder, the availability of drugs at lower prices would exacerbate the current problems of the poorest neighborhoods. Health insurance companies would in turn pass on the increased accident expenses to consumers through higher premiums. Of course this cost does not include the spillover crime effects of drug use also known as negative externalities. Drug addicts now begin costing taxpayers in various ways. The likelihood of an initial user obtaining the drug from a drug dealer is slim. A report published by the Institute for Health Policy at Brandeis University stated that, "As the number one health problem in the country, substance abuse places a major burden on the nation's health care system and contributes to the high cost of health care. About 70 percent of new users obtained it from friends or relatives. While there are problems with the current "War on Drugs", the argument for legalization only sets the country back even further. Once new users become addicted users, the social costs rise. When taken in context, these obligations demonstrate the need for greater resources. The higher crime rates directly result in higher cost.
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