Black Market Decriminalization

Thus, no matter what quantity (usage of drugs) will go down (Q2). The direction in which the price moves depends on which shift is larger. It has been shown that price will most likely go up; the reason for this is because law enforcement often goes after the suppliers with more effort than they go after the buyers because it has a greater deterrent effect because it is harder to sell than buy (Hellman and Alper). Also the punishments for sellers are much worse than for buyers. Therefore, the leftward shift of the supply schedule (S2), caused by the decrease in supply, is much larger than the shift in the demand schedule (D2); this causes a larger decrease in supply than in demand (area between S1 and S2 is larger) which then causes the increase in price from P1 to P2 (Graph A) (Miller). The increase in helps explain why drug offenders commit more property crime when drugs are illegal. Most property crimes are committed for financial motives; it is then safe to assume that drug offenders steal the property for money to buy drugs and to pay off all of the costs mentioned above. Violent crime can be explained through the use of drug selling gangs. The gangs fight over selling territory. The gang leaders can be seen as entrepreneurs and it is in their best interest to maximize profit. To do this they must lower competition and fight rival gangs to drive them out of their

Proponents on the legalization of drugs believe if drugs were to become legal; the black market worth billions of dollars would become extinct, drug gangsters would disappear, addicts would stop committing crimes to support their habit and the prison system would not be overwhelmed with a problem they cannot defeat. The decriminalization of drugs will only make illegal drugs cheaper, easier to get and more acceptable to use. “The U.S. has 20 million alcoholics and alcohol misusers, but only around 6 million illegal drug addicts. If illegal drugs were easier to obtain, this figure would rise”(Should Drugs be decriminalized? No.November 09, 2007 Califano Joseph A, Jr).”

Eight states (plus Washington D.C.), have legalized recreational marijuana, and twenty-nine states (plus Washington D.C.), have legalized medical marijuana. The marijuana

Open air drug markets will surely increase the crime rate in New York City. Although open-air markets represent the lowest level of drug distribution, it can still be extremely harmful to the communities that are affected by it. The selling and distribution of drugs, such as heroin should continue to remain illegal. Many other factors will also contribute to the dangers of an open drug market. There are a variety of number of solutions to each of the potential dangers that an open drug market has.

For many people, the thought of making drugs easily accessible for consumption by the masses may be frightening. After all, we have drug laws in place because they have the potential to be harmful. It also may not be difficult to imagine that it could very well be subject to failure due to a numerous amount negative externalities that may occur. Our nation has been engaged in a war on drugs for several decades now. The effectiveness of this war, however, is a topic that has continuously been debated. Some argue that universal legalization of drugs, an alternative that has never been tried, may have a greater benefits when compared to the present state of the war on drugs. On the other hand, the opposition believes that legalization would only pave the way for a vast amount of crime and many wasted resources.

Today’s world is changing at a rapid pace. Things never thought to be possible are becoming very real. One of the popular subjects of wanting change is the legalization of drugs. There has already been a small amount of change in the drug legalization process with marijuana now being legal in a few of the states. Vanessa Baird in her work “Legalize Drugs- all of them!” argues for the legalization and decriminalization of drugs. John P. Walters counters Baird’s argument for legalization in his piece “Don’t Legalize Drugs.” Both authors take an extended look into the harsh reality of the drug war and the small progress it has made since it began.

Ever since the federal criminalization of marijuana in the United States in 1937, there has been a large underground drug market (Paul). Much like how the prohibition of alcohol simply forced imbibers underground, those who chose to partake in marijuana are forced to stay away from the prying eye of the law because of present marijuana laws. This means the drug world is concealed from the average citizen, hiding the dangers of drug deals gone wrong, police shootings, and other dangerous occurrences. In a way this allows the government to mask the fact that their well-funded ‘War on Drugs’ is ineffective, a ‘War’ with a budget of roughly twenty billion dollars; which is not profoundly effective in the curbing the use of drugs (Jillette). If

In the United States, more than ten states have legalized the use of marijuana for medical reasons. These states include California, Hawaii, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont, Rhode Island, Nevada, and Washington among others. The Supreme Court of

The cohorts of drug prohibition argue that the benefits of the prohibition are self-evident and undeniable. The basis of this assumption argument is that without prohibition the consumption of drug would skyrocket, and therefore, lead to disastrous outcomes. However, there is no evidence on the commonly held belief. The empirical evidence that exists does not support the notion of souring drug consumption. For instance, in the Netherland and Switzerland, where marijuana is legalized, the consumption rate is lower than in the United States of America, where consumption of Marijuana is prohibited in most of the states. This study argues for the legalization of the consumption of drugs and decriminalization of possession and use of drugs in the United States of America.

An expensive problem the United States of America faces is: too many people in jail, in which many people are incarcerated for the use and distribution of drugs. Why is this a problem? Firstly, a large amount of drug dealers or users in jail means less space for violent criminals such as robbers, murderers, and sexual assault perpetrators. Secondly, money spent on drug dealers and users, like capture and housing, is very expensive. Finally, because the government does not regulate the sale of narcotics we miss out on taxation of said narcotics, which can be used for the education and rehabilitation of drugs for citizens. Therefore, due to the dangerous and expensive system in place, legalization of all drugs is the solution we

This can mean that the caffeine sold in the black markets may be much weaker than normal, which would result in a greater need for the product, leading to more sales, therefore more crimes committed. On the other end of the spectrum, however, lies a more serious problem. The lack of regulations could mean that the drug is significantly stronger than citizens were once accustomed to, which can lead to many health problems, including over doses that may lead to death.

Drug legalization is an enduring question that presently faces our scholars. This issue embraces two positions: drugs should not be legalized and drugs should be legalized. These two positions contain an array of angles that supports each issue. This brief of the issues enables one to consider the strengths and weakness of each argument, become aware of the grounds of disagreement and agreement and ultimately form an opinion based upon the positions stated within the articles. In the article “Against the Legalization of Drugs”, by James Q. Wilson, the current status of drugs is supported. Wilson believes if a drug such as heroin were legalized there would be no financial or medical reason to avoid heroin usage;

The most important factor for the spread of crack and heroin is that when opiates and cocaine are illegal, low potency versions of these drugs become extensively expensive. Thus, consumers are induced to switch to more intensive and more harmful drug forms and delivery systems. Absent the incentives created by current policy, consumers will revert to the modes of consumption that are less damaging.

The legalization of the herbal drug marijuana has already occurred in a few states within the United States. Its legalization is split into two categories, medical and recreational. Currently there are eight states which have legalized it for recreation use.Colorado and Washington DC were the first two states to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2012. There are 20 states which legalized the usage of marijuana for medicinal purposes.Since the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington has benefited tremendously.A

Laws that prohibit the possession and use of street drugs are important as their aim is to protect the user, those around them, and society in general from undue harm. There has been a great push during the last 10 years to legalize marijuana and decriminalize other drugs such as cocaine and heroin on the basis that the recreational user, and even the hard-core addict, may not be causing significant harm to anyone, beyond their own personal health. In this sense, drug use is viewed as a personal choice and drug laws trample on personal freedoms without sufficient reason. Additionally, minorities are found to be arrested and convicted of drug crimes at disproportionate rates when compared to the demographics of those who use illegal drugs, which some see these type of laws as a tool of legal oppression, instead of a valid punitive function. Still, there remains sufficient reasons to maintain laws against the possession and use of controlled substances, such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin; though there is a compelling argument for the lessening of the amount punishment of the majority of users that are caught with small amounts of street drugs. This paper seeks to put forward valid reasons for the continued prohibition of drugs, while also making a case for the softening of incarceration policies.