Why are drugs illegal?

Question

Most crime is drug related
I thought we learned that prohibition doesnt work
gangs and drug traffickers will not exist, being some of the most dangerous people to society...
alcohol is ranked 5 in worst drugs list
marijuana is 11th
Isnt it a freedom to do what we like...
Isnt it a victimless crime?
Less jails and inmates , less guns on the street, less cops needed. saved money for the society....
It seems the poor are the ones that use drugs the most to cope with living in a judgmental society...
are you judging them?does it help them for you to judge them?

Answer 1

From a purely economic standpoint, the criminalization of drugs only benefits the criminal organizations that produce and distribute them. By raising barriers to entry and, in effect, exempting these 'businesess' from regulation (they still generally end up paying taxes through 'money laundering' schemes), anti-drug efforts increase the proffit margin on drug production and distribution. Very inefficient business models thus become profitable, and prices very high. Yet, because the demand for drugs (from addicts) is so inelastic, that does not substantially reduce use.

Furthermore, illegal drugs are marketted using a very agressive technique known as 'pushing' - that targets the very young on a 1:1 basis. It takes a very high proffit margin to make this form of marketing practical.

Were currently illicit drugs legal and regulated, instead, the phenomenon would be very different. Presumably, pharmacuetical companies and businesses currently making and distributing recreational drugs like tobacco and alchohol would move into the market. These are large, highly efficient businesses. Thier products would undercut those of the current illicit businesses, which would disapear (or, rather, turn thier efforts to other businesses where the illegality premium is high enough to support thier model). Prices would drop dramatically, meaning that addicts would not be driven to steal nearly as much (just for example) to feed thier habbits. Similarly, the association of drug crime with violence would fade, as acquiring such products would not require dealing with unsavory characters, and distribution channels would be decided by market forces rather than gang violence.

The problem is that the business model of the new players in the market would be most proffitable if they increased the market, as well as thier market share. The temptation to make thier products more widely acceptable via conventional advertising campaigns and lobbying efforts would be difficult to resist. Tight regulation would be needed to forestall such developments, much like the efforts of past decades to stop the marketing of cigarettes to children.

OTHO, with the viel of illegality lifted, drugs would be less the symbol of rebellion, and more associated with the pathetic state of addicts - much as cigarettes have come to be associated more with cancer patients than cool movie stars.

Answer 2

Maybe because these drugs screw you up more than alcohol. Even being illegal, many people are still stupid enough to buy the crap. These people need to get a life and find a more productive way to use their time and spend their money.

Yes, even alcohol is a mind altering drug. However, Heroin, coke, speed, marijuana (list goes on and on) screw a person up more than alcohol. Alcohol is illegal if you are over the legal limit. So there are still boundaries there. Drugs are illegal by the smallest amount. No drugs isn't a victimless crime but instead hurts everyone around them.

Answer 3

I don't know, it makes absolutely no sense. I do not use drugs or have I ever. I actually look down on them a bit, but know that it's ridiculous and nothing more than the ideas that American society has planted in my head. If drugs were legal, we wouldn't have more people using drugs. People that use drugs have an interest in them. If you weren't interested in drugs before they were legal, you're not going to be interested in them now that they're legal.

purity assurance under Food and Drug Administration regulation;
labeled concentration of the product (to avoid overdose);
obliteration of vigorous marketing ("pushers");
obliteration of drug crime and reduction of theft crime
savings in expensive enforcement and
significant tax revenues.

The six points for why drugs should be legalized were taken from this site.

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Misc/roe1.htm

Imagine what would happen if drugs were legal. Most of our law enforcement agencies would have to be drastically cut. We would also be able to do away with most of our jails. Real violent criminals wouldn't be shoved out the door to make room for non-violent petty drug offenders. The government would have to shrink in size and that will never happen. I seriously doubt that drugs will ever be legalized as long as we have a powerful selfserving government.

Answer 4

You can not be serious. You have obviously not been on the streets with these drug dealers. You have not had a loved one addicted to heroin or crack.

If drugs were legal - it would not stop crime. Time and time again, violent crimes are commited while someone is under the influence of drugs. And stealing would not decrease. If drugs are legal - the price of them would go up. Look at cigarettes, look at alcohol, look at prescription drugs. Anything that the government can tax - they will. The need and addiction of drugs will still be there. So people will still steal to feed their addiction.
Gangs will exist, traffickers will exist.

I have seen people die from drugs, I have seen children abandoned by parents addicted to drugs, I have seen men and women go from having a good lifestyle with three kids, to emptying their life savings, spending their children's college fund, to stay high.

Go spend a month in the ghetto. Go spend some time with real addicts. Not your teen friends smoking pot. I mean - real addicts. You will change your mind. If you don't, you'd be ignorant.

Answer 5

Well, in my opinion, alcohol and tobacco should be illegal too. Anything that can cause health problems or make you an idiot behind the wheel and a potential fatal hazard to others should be outlawed. The trick is we need much harsher penalties so people learn their lessons.

And no, the poor are the ones using drugs they buy with welfare money while sitting on their fat butts all day. The poor could use their money to buy a suit and go to a job interview, or to take a class to get a GED and go get a job. End of story.

Answer 6

Do you really believe drug use is a "victimless" crime? Many burglaries and thefts are the result of an addict needing property to sell so they can buy more drugs. What do you tell the family who's child was just run over by a person driving while impaired by drugs? Drug use is NOT a victimless crime.

Answer 7

So, you're saying if we stop prosecuting drugs things will get better? Think again. Prolonged drug use makes you a liability for society. You are more likely to lose your job, or not have one, or perform poorly if you do. For most people, drug use can ruin their lives, without facing any legal troubles. It affects rational thought and can cause people to make bad decisions.

Answer 8

drugs are illegal because if we had them in the free society...more deaths would occur due to use. Just because it is legal in few places in Europe, doesn't mean crime is down and deaths do not occur. Their crime rate is a bit lower in Europe...but the rate of drug deaths is quadruple!! Drugs are stupis...and anyone who uses them does not deserve respect from me. And don't give me that ol "but shouldn't we help these poor people?". Bullcrap, we ALL know what drugs can do. Once you start, you are not getting ANY help from me.

Answer 9

our laws are determined by elected politicians and the political process.
not logic and reason. consider becoming a grassroots advocate or lobbyist to help people understand better ways to approach drug problems. you can make a difference here.

Answer 10

Have you ever seen a crackhead or a meth head? I really do not wanna see these people in the main stream . I agree with legalizing pot. Anything harder... No.