Waging War against the War on Drugs.
There exists a War on Drugs in our nation; a war that we are unfortunately losing. Our government is protecting the monopoly of the black market by prohibiting the use of non-prescription drugs. There is a great demand for which there must be a great supply and the present laws forbidding drug trade and usage promote the growth of the black market. It is time that we realize that the multi-dimensional socio-economic problem does not have one solution and that simply prohibiting drugs has not and will not work. .
The existence of a black market is inevitable, as there exists supply for a good in high demand. The illegality of drugs fosters a black market controlled by a drug mafia of sorts that sets high prices in return for the high-risk production of drugs. The high prices set by this monopoly in turn cause customers to steal or involve themselves in other such crimes in order to be able to afford the drugs that they have become addicted to. Meanwhile the drug leaders of these cartels are being enabled to exercise power over those who are desperate to find jobs and willing to take the risk of involving themselves in such a trade. As participation under these leaders increases, large amounts of revenue are generated and used maliciously. The drug money earned by the selling of Poppy seeds grown in Afghanistan, for example, was then used to finance acts of terrorism against the United States. When looked at in that regard, citizens of our country had in effect financed the terrorist attacks of September 11. .
By legalizing drugs and creating a free market we can significantly reduce the power and influence of the black market. As prices would be set lower than those of the black market, consumers will purchase drugs in the free market not only because they are cheaper but also because there is no risk involved. With fewer consumers in the black market, there is a decrease in demand and thus supply will decrease accordingly.
