Just Say No

You know, I think that Nancy Reagan had it right - just say "No!" to drugs. People make fun of that campaign every now and then, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was cheesy or something, but the message was a simple example of using the free market to make things better. In fact, it might be the only governmental drug policy that makes sense. An introductory course in microeconomics makes the fallacy of the drug war as plain as day. As long as people want drugs, somebody will provide them. Using the DEA (and various state/regional agencies) to stop suppliers doesn't really help things. It just cuts back on the drug supply (by some amount). It doesn't change the demand. But, it does change the price. Since dealers have increased risk from the DEA, they charge more. So, drug users need more cash to feed their addictions. This extra money will come from working more (doubtful), stealing or saving (which will disappear). So, fighting suppliers increases potential criminal activity.
If, however, the gov't would go after drug users, drug use and crime would go down. If the penalties for possession and/or use are sufficiently high, demand will drop. Let's eliminate the laws that base jail time (or warm fuzzy counseling centers) on quantity in possession and make the penalty the same whether you have an eighth of marijuana or a full brick. So, if demand drops, then the suppliers will go away on their own, because they don't have any customers. There it is - the free market at work!