Holier-than-thou politically inclined people always like to preach about how we should prohibit drugs legally to "save society".
Despite the mountains of regulations, and the multitude of arrests and incarcerations, drug use has been rapidly expanding globally. On the contrary, these constitutes as failures of such regulations.
Yet this is does not just apply to drugs but almost to every other instances of prohibitions on social vices, e.g. smoking, prostitution, gambling (e.g. Philippine jueteng) and etc...
[As a side note, I might add that people who argue from the high perch of morality are those mostly out there to get social acceptability or "likes" from the uninformed than to objectively discuss the merits or demerits of such regulations]
The following video from LearnLiberty.org explains the economics of prohibition and why such laws engenders adverse unintended effects than what is supposed to be accomplished. (hat tip Professor Mark Perry)
Despite the mountains of regulations, and the multitude of arrests and incarcerations, drug use has been rapidly expanding globally. On the contrary, these constitutes as failures of such regulations.
Yet this is does not just apply to drugs but almost to every other instances of prohibitions on social vices, e.g. smoking, prostitution, gambling (e.g. Philippine jueteng) and etc...
[As a side note, I might add that people who argue from the high perch of morality are those mostly out there to get social acceptability or "likes" from the uninformed than to objectively discuss the merits or demerits of such regulations]
The following video from LearnLiberty.org explains the economics of prohibition and why such laws engenders adverse unintended effects than what is supposed to be accomplished. (hat tip Professor Mark Perry)
In its history, America has experienced two major periods of drug prohibition. This first was the Federal alcohol prohibition from 1920-1933. The second is the current war on drugs, which began in 1971.In short, not only does prohibition statutes corrupt a society, at worst they kill.
According to Prof. Angela Dills, during these periods of prohibition in America, both homicide rates and police enforcement costs increased. This makes sense, as prohibitions never actually eliminate use. Rather, prohibitions convert peaceful and legal markets into black markets. In black markets, when disputes arise over sales territory, product quality, or money, the government legal system is not available. This forces drug dealers to resolve disputes on their own, which often leads to violence.
The violence of black markets, along with the enforcement of drug policy, attracts the attention of law enforcement. Law enforcement is costly, and the time spent enforcing drug laws could have been spent preventing other crimes like murder, theft, and rape. Drug prohibition not only generates more violence and increases the cost of law enforcement; it also distracts law enforcement and puts citizens at greater risk of crime.
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