Crime Rates & the Legalization of Drugs

I strongly agree with Michael Babula and his position in reference to crime rates and the legalization of drugs. The rising crime rates in Maryland’s fourth congressional district, with Prince George’s county as a prime example, is in great need of change. The drug related murders in Prince George’s county have reached new heights and I feel that the legalization of drugs is quite simply the only way to reduce drug related violence. According to Robert A. Trevino and Alan J. Richard, authors of “Attitudes towards Drug Legalization among Drug Users,” the reduction in the supply of illegal drugs will only cause an increase in the prices of the drugs and drug related crimes. With the legalization of illegal drugs, the drug prices are likely to be lowered, making the drugs more affordable to its users. In effect, the drug related crimes will decline and users will have more money to spend on seeking aid from healthcare facilities.
The current war on drugs can be compared to the prohibition of alcohol that occurred throughout the 1920’s and early 1930’s. The governments ban on alcohol proved unsuccessful as it gave crime lords like Al Capone, the mafia, and several other criminal organizations a great deal of power that they did not have when alcohol was legal. Violence levels increased tremendously and the government was forced to reinstate the use of alcohol in 1933. The United States is spending an enormous amount of money trying to prevent the use of illegal drugs and putting the offenders behind bars. Instead, the government should learn from its mistakes of the past and allow the legalization of drugs. A free market approach is the only solution to fighting the war on drugs. The incarceration of drug offenders does nothing more than provide a feeling of seclusion and despair that, when the offender is finally released, leads to a heavier use of illegal drugs and ultimately to a higher level of drug related crimes.
Gary S. Becker of Business Week and author of the article “It’s Time to give up the War on Drugs,” explains that 30% of all inmates in the United States are serving time for drug convictions. This percentage continues to rise as the war on drugs continues to fail miserably. Becker also confirms that the high prices caused by the war on drugs provide huge profits for illegal cartels and others who manage to bypass the countries law enforcement. It is evident that the legalization of drugs is perhaps the only way to reduce the level of drug related crimes in not only Maryland’s 4th congressional district but throughout the United States as well.