Who is winning the war on drugs?
Drug cartels.
This is a really interesting and timely article about the legalizing of marijuana. From an economic standpoint, there is a lot of upside to legalizing pot.
We will reduce the costs of law enforcement, prosecutions, incarceration, and prison construction. And we will generate revenue by taxing it.
From a health standpoint, we will regulate the strength (THC levels).
Read the article to see what I mean.
Pot is not as harmful to the body as either alcohol or cigarettes - two vices that are already legal.
Yet we continue to keep marijuana illegal because, wait, why is that again? Habit? Fear? How about ignorance.
Famous economists have analyzed the drug war failure and concluded that by keeping drugs illegal, we are basically just helping the drug cartels maintain a monopoly and get really rich.
What would happen to the Mexican drug war if America legalized drugs? It would virtually stop in its tracks. It is the illegality that leads to the violence, underworld nature of the business. Just look at our history of prohibition in the US.
Legalizing and legitimizing the marijuana growing, processing, and selling businesses would transform a huge part of the drug underworld into an above-board endeavor that
contributes to society rather than costing us billions in tax dollars.
If you're squeamish about legalizing pot, let me ask you this: Do you drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes? What is really the difference?
If you don't drink or smoke, and you are resistant to legalizing another vice, think about this: Should every vice be a crime? Particularly vices that are relatively inexpensive and mostly lead to people becoming more mellow and craving junk food?
I'm not necessarily advocating taking up the toking habit. I am advocating that we stop pretending that smoking pot is some evil, deadly activity when it is not as dangerous as many things we see and do every day. And I am hoping that we can recognize both the bad economic effects of keeping it illegal and the good economic possibilities of legalization.
The up side of this far outweighs the potential downside IMO. So let me know if you're on board. And pass the Cheetos.
