This paper will present a number of arguments in favor of the legalization of drugs in America. In addition, the paper will propose a program for implementing the legalization of drugs, and will consider various problems which might be anticipated in the course of carrying out such a program. The primary argument in favor of the legalization of drugs lies in the fact that the government's war on drugs, which has been going on now for decades, has simply failed to curb the illegal drug trade. In fact, many critics have compared the current war on drugs to the 1920s Prohibition action in that it "has created more problems than it solves" (Becker, 1987, p. 22). As in the ban on alcoholic beverages which took place as a result of Prohibition, the current illegality of drugs has done little to stop the problems of use and abuse while at the same time making it possible for criminals to reap incredible profits. It has been estimated that Americans spend approximately $140 billion per year on the illicit drug trade (Branch, 1988, p. 26). If drugs were decriminalized, these enormous profits would no longer go to organized crime and would thereby be brought back into the legal economy.
If drugs were made legal, much of the violence which currently surrounds the drug trade would also be brought to a halt. Because criminals dominate the distribution of drugs in America today, many people get killed as a result. These victims range from police officers killed or wounded in the line of duty to addicts and drug pushers involved in arguments, to innocent bystanders on the streets. Furthermore, if drugs were legalized, the competition among legitimate manufacturers and distributors would help bring drug prices down. As such, the legalization of drugs could reduce the number of addicts who must "turn to prostitution, burglary, embezzlement, and other crimes to support a habit that consumes all their resources" (Becker, 1987, p. 22). In a...