Advocates of legalization argue that drug prohibition only makes things worse.

They argue that crime, the spread of HIV, and violence are major consequences of drug prohibition.

But these represent only part of the damage caused by drug use.

Consider drug-exposed infants, drug-induced accidents, and loss of productivity and employment, not to mention the breakdown of families and the degeneration of drug-inflicted neighborhoods.

These too are consequences of drugs.

Others argue that drugs affect only the user.

This is wrong.

No one familiar with alcohol abuse would suggest that alcoholism affects the user solely.

And no one who works with drug addicts will tell you that their use of drugs has not affected others—usually family and friends.

Some argue that drug enforcement should be replaced by a policy of "harm reduction," which emphasizes decriminalization and medical treatment over law enforcement and interdiction.

But people do not use drugs simply because they are illegal.

Equally significant, effective enforcement reduces drug supply, increases price, lowers the number of users, and decreases hard-core drug use.

There is an inverse relationship between the price of cocaine and the number of people seeking emergency room treatment.

Legalization advocates claim widespread support.

But the fact is that there is no broad public or political outcry for the decriminalization of drugs.

Contrary to what the advocates of legalization say about the European models, decriminalization has not worked there.

The Dutch policy of "responsible" drug use has resulted in thousands of foreigners going to the Netherlands to buy drugs.

These users then commit crimes to support their habits and drain Dutch taxpayers to provide treatment for their addictions. The number of marijuana and heroin users has increased significantly.

The British experience of controlled distribution of heroin resulted in the doubling of the number of recorded new addicts every 16 months between 1960 and 1967.

That experiment was ended.






http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articl...ze-them?page=2