To legalize or not to legalize

I recently changed my residence, abandoning Colorado (I miss you) for sunny California. When I registered to vote and had to choose the party with whom I affiliate, I also abandoned the GOP (good riddance) for the Libertarian Party. In the past 3-4 years my opinion of all things Republican has changed; at one time they could do no wrong, but now they very frequently do not end up on what I view to be the right side of the issue (with, of course, notable exceptions such as Ron Paul, Jim DeMint, and Paul Ryan). I wish that I could trust them when they say that they will be fiscally aware once they resume power, but I have not forgotten that the Bush administration spent the most money ever until the current one and now we disagree on other issues such as immigration or the NYC mosque.
So this year I will vote in California. I am excited to vote on the gamut of propositions but most notably for Prop 19. This is the bill that will legalize marijuana in the state of California. After having several conversations with myself and others, I am ready to announce to the world how I will vote with a rational explanation using my impeccable logic. Get ready world. For the 2010 election in the state of California, with regards to Prop 19, I am taking my talents to Yes. I have come up with three main reasons why I feel this way.
Police spend a lot of time fighting drugs. As the use of drugs has increased, law enforcement has been forced to spend more time combating drug use and not as much time fighting crimes that have a victim.
Using drugs is for the most part a victimless crime. When someone smokes a joint in his basement, he isn’t injuring anyone but himself and it is not the job of the government to protect me from me. Ludwig von Mises wrote “(O)nce the principle is admitted that it is the duty of the government to protect the individual against his own foolishness ... (w)hy not prevent him from reading bad books and bad plays ... ? The mischief done by bad ideologies is more pernicious ... than that done by narcotic drugs.” They shouldn’t tell people what to read or eat even though that could be dangerous to their health and drugs are no different.
Now, dear reader, you might be saying that drugs do have victims. Families are destroyed and the lives of children are ruined because their parents are addicted to drugs. I have witnessed this firsthand when I worked at a juvenile detention center. Many of the kids were ignored by their parents or took drugs with their parents and it led to other crimes that were far worse than drugs. For you, my dear reader, I will provide what I find my most convincing argument. It will surprise no one to know that I am a nerd, especially when it comes to economics. I love it. I have analyzed for myself through a cost/benefit analysis speeding and a bunch of other issues. Drugs are no different. Let’s begin with my analysis.
What are the costs of legalizing drugs? Some lives are ruined through drug abuse (not use just abuse). That is a horrible thing and I don’t want to make this seem trivial. Someone might get behind the wheel and drive and could seriously injure another person. If drugs are legal, driving while under the influence of them should and would still be illegal but it could still happen so I include this as a cost associated with legalization.
What about the benefits? Income from drugs can now be taxed adding much needed revenue to the government, albeit revenue that they wouldn’t need if they just spent money wisely but that is another topic. Billions of dollars would be saved because there would be no need to send that money to Mexico as aid to fight the drug cartels or to spend it to find local drug dealers. Jeffrey Miron, a economics professor at Harvard, has estimated that between what we will get from taxes and save will be over $30 billion. That is a lot of money. Another benefit is that the drug cartels will lose power. If you look at the famous, prohibition-era criminals, you will notice a commonality amongst nearly all of them: bootlegging. Dillinger, Capone, and others were all bootleggers and the mafias that made money through the practice lost power once alcohol was legalized. The same will most likely happen with cartels and gangs who are also financed through dealing drugs.
To summarize my analysis, by legalizing drugs thousands more people will keep their lives than lose them and billions of dollars will be saved or earned legally and lastly, drug cartels will lose power and money. For me, it is a win for legalization. The benefits far outweigh the costs.
Now a bonus reason for everyone but specifically tailored to Mormons like me. Richard Nixon started the war on drugs in the 70s and it has lasted now nearly 40 years with no end in sight. I agree that drugs are horrible and I would never take any of them but there is a more effective way to fight drugs. In The Book of Mormon we read “And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.” If the use and abuse of drugs are to end, we must preach the word of God and not try and end it with “the sword, or anything else” which has heretofore been inadequate.
Hopefully, you now understand why I feel it should be legalized. I also like the idea of California legalizing it because it will be a social experiment in a smaller setting, and if it works, other states are then able to copy it. It is the way that the union is supposed to be. We will see what happens.