Illicit Drug Legalization

To whom it may concern,

While the War on Drugs took center stage in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, it has since faded in the American psyche to a point where the once taboo subject of legalization is now on the table in the California legislature for marijuana. The logic behind the legalization of all drugs is virtually the same reasoning behind the end of prohibition. Banning any substance creates a black market. And it is this black market, not the substance necessarily, which breeds the levels of violence that we are now seeing in Mexico. Those who buy and sell drugs cannot bring their grievances to the government, so they settle their disputes with violence or intimidation. Since the illegal trade of narcotics is so lucrative, it breeds corruption and creates powerful drug cartels. So when police officers and judges become entangled in this black market, they become subject to the very system of bribes, intimidation, and violence that they are charged to eliminate. If legalized, all drugs would need to be controlled, regulated, and taxed. What currently costs nearly $50 billion to enforce would turn into a surplus of approximately $40 billion in revenue, not including the reduction in enforcement. And in these bleakest of times, this additional revenue is in dire need. But beyond the taxation of these narcotics, legalization would begin to decouple the United States from the international web of illegal drug trafficking. As the largest consumer of recreational drugs in the world, if legalized, the United States could set up a legal trade with countries like Colombia and Afghanistan, usurping not just violent drug cartels, but international terrorists. Legalization would also open up an entirely new market for private business to develop. This could translate into millions of American jobs in the farm, transportation, pharmaceutical, and retail sectors. And with a controlled supply of narcotics, we could focus funding on education, prevention and rehabilitation. Prohibition ended during the Great Depression. Will this administration take the bold stance to begin the decriminalization and even legalization of some if not all illegal drugs during this Great Recession?

GUNNAR HAND, AICP