billion dollars ($770.00 per person) to attempt to prevent one hundred billion dollars worth of illicit drug use. (Evans and Berent) Another consequence of this questionable war lies in Opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is defined as the cost of opportunity lost in pursuit of another option. This cost analysis is relevant in the case of the drug prohibition policy in that the resources use to implement the policy are limited, police and prisons. The law enforcement used in this "war of drugs" has their time nearly monopolized by the approximate thirty to forty million people yearly who purchase and use drugs. This inherently leaving various law enforcement agencies with less ability to confront other crimes. Then there is the problem of prisons. The space in the prisons is extremely limited, and the cost of keeping a person in prison is astronomical in caparison to the prevention being provided in reference to drug prohibition. The issue of limited prison space gains significance greatly when you consider an estimated sixty-
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