prosecuting those who commit crimes such as murder, rape, and assault. The reason we are unable to devote these resources where they
             are needed is because we are foolishly spending them on a battle that we cannot win-the "War on Drugs."
             Prior to Ronald Reagan's "War on Drugs," America's crime rate had been declining. Since the introduction of the new wave drug laws, violent crimes have increased 32% between 1976 and 1985. Eighty percent of all violent street crimes are now drug related.
             Most of the violent crime associated with drugs can be traced directly to the drug dealers and not the users. "The 'war on drugs' drives up prices, which attracts more people to the drug trade. When potential profit increases, drug dealers resort to greater extremes, including violence." For example,
             the street price of heroin has risen 5,000 times that of hospital costs. These artificial prices lead to turf wars in which one dealer attempts to protect his sales from another. These turf wars cause dealers to kill each other, law enforcement officials, and often innocent bystanders. The rising cost of the drugs causes desperate addicts to commit robberies in order to keep up with the inflating prices.
             If the importation, sale and use of drugs were legal, the open competition would eliminate the profitability of drug dealing. Without the economic incentive to commit violent crimes, the violence of drug dealing would be dramatically reduced. In addition to the elimination of the economic incentive, the health risk factor would help to reduce the role of the drug dealer. A potential customer would probably choose to buy a market-tested product from a pharmacy as opposed to buying a product of unknown dosage and quality from a corner dealer.
             Without the lure of potential profits, the drug dealing profession would lose its luster. A major problem is that children in lower-class areas see selling drugs as the only way to make money. Minimum wage ...