Is The US Policy On Drug Prohibition Effective?

Part I of Essay
? The Federal Government, while trying to protect us from our human nature, developed harsh anti-drug policies with the hope of eradicating drugs. At the time, these policies seemed simple enough: we will impose penalties on those who use substances illegally, we will inter ....

Part II of Essay
.... spends at least $10 billion a year on drug enforcement programs and spends many billions more on drug-related crimes and punishment. The estimated cost to the United States for the "War on Drugs" is $200 billion a year or an outstanding $770 per person per year, and that figure does not include the money spent by state and local government in this "war" (Evans and Berent, eds. xvii). The second cost of this "war" is something economist like to call opportunity costs. Here, we have two resources which are limited: prison cells and law enfor ....