Admit defeat and legalise drugs – Nobel laureate economist

October 3, 2001

Free Market Foundation

Despite the billions of taxpayer dollars spent to prosecute the War on Drugs in America and elsewhere, many experts have concluded that that effort has failed. Nobel laureate economist Gary S. Becker has recently written about the debate over cutting the losses and legalising drugs.

He argues legalisation should be combined with a high “sin” tax on users, safeguards against sales to children, and severe punishment to anyone who works or drives while impaired by drugs.

The U.S. alone spends almost $40 billion annually fighting the drug war.

Drug offenders now account for more that 30 percent of all U.S. prison inmates.

Estimates place the world market value of illegal drugs at several hundreds of billions of dollars.
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> Legalisation proponents cite history and borrow from policies governing other substances to explain how legalisation might work.

Ending Prohibition and legalising alcohol almost immediately cleaned up the liquor industry and started the process of depriving gangsters of their lucrative markets.

Lowering street prices for drugs thereby encouraging greater consumption could be offset by high excise taxes.

Sales to minors could be discouraged by harsh punishments in much the same way we control sales of alcohol and cigarettes to children.

Those who drive or work under the influence of drugs might be subject to the same punishments some nations impose on drunk drivers loss of licenses, fines and stiff jail sentences.

Critics say the present system has not been effective in discouraging drug experimentation among the young in part because suppliers are subject to punishments whether they sell to adults or children.

Source: Gary S. Becker (University of Chicago), It’s Time to Give Up the War on Drugs, Business Week, September 17, 2001.

For more on Drug Use and Control http://www.ncpa.org/pd/social/social4.html

FMF\25 September 2001