November 16, 2008 - 4:25pm — Anonymous
drugs and economics
An interesting way to combat the war on drugs is to legalize them.
If drugs were to be legalized in the united states, they could be taxed and regulated. Narcotic abuse would, over a few years, stop. If you saturate a market and create an equilibrium between supply and demand, there would be no profit to be made in illegal drug trafficking or distribution. Drugs dealers would not be able to make a profit, violent crime would go down dramatically, overdoses would stop, and new programs and organization for drug education would spring up.
This is, of course, an idea that exists pretty much within the realm of economic theory. Given the current culture of youths in the country, legalized drugs would most likely create a pandemonium before any decline in abuse or violence would be seen.
Food for thought...