Stephen Fletcher
The War On Drugs: Our Most Costly Mistake

The war on drugs has become a flashpoint of sorts on both sides of our border with Mexico. Thousands are being killed every year and drug use is still rampant. “Currently the government spends 51 billion dollars annually to try and curb the supply of drugs that have been pouring across the border for decades” (Powell). The only impact, in an economic sense, is actually an increase in price for the drugs while maintaining similar quantity demanded. It is clear that the United States is waging its war on the suppliers and distributors of the drugs more so than people who just possess the drugs, as evidenced by the decriminalization of the possession of marijuana in certain states. In short, the war on the supply side of drugs is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars as well as crippling future efforts to curb the effects of drug use in the United States. The United States was hoping to, metaphorically speaking, plug the hole in the dam that was holding drugs back from entering our country. Their main goal in waging a supply-side war was to decrease the quantity supplied rather than increase the price that drugs are being sold at. The war on drugs was started to make it more difficult for suppliers to smuggle their drugs into the country. In that respect, the United States succeeded. In the end though, their plan backfired because the demand for drugs is largely inelastic and by increasing the costs of producing and transporting drugs over the border, they forced dealers to raise their prices. These increases in price lead to a massive increase in revenue because people were willing to pay almost anything for the drugs they wanted. This increase in revenue then leads to suppliers purchasing more sophisticated weaponry, implementing more violent tactics, and increasing new competition just to get the same amount of drugs over the border to maintain the same level of quantity supplied. The United States has actually hurt itself in some ways as a result of its vendetta on recreational drug users. By having such a high incarceration rate, federal prisons are a huge burden on taxpayers. On top of that, the economy is losing potentially skilled labor and productivity all for a relatively minor drug offense. The war on drugs is also in and of itself a massive burden on taxpayers. This spending is unnecessary because “treatment consistently proves to be a more effective, cheaper and more humane way to lower the demand for illegal drugs” (Nadelmann). By focusing more on educating and helping drug users, the United States would save billions. Another key here is opportunity cost. The United States is spending billions to fight incoming marijuana where they could be taxing it instead. Combined with the savings from ending prohibition enforcement, marijuana taxation could generate massive revenue for federal and state governments.
In closing, I believe that the war on drugs is an absolute farce and needs to be stopped before more lives are lost as a result. By funneling billions into fighting this war, the government is just perpetuating a never-ending cycle of violence that has and will continue to spiral out of control. By looking at alternative options such as legalizing harmless recreational drugs to reallocating resources towards helping existing, struggling drug users, the United States would not only save billions, but also save countless lives in the process.

Works Cited * Powell, Benjamin. "The Economics Behind the U.S. Government's Unwinnable War on Drugs." Econlib.org. N.p., 1 July 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2015. * Nadelmann, Ethan. "Making Economic Sense." Drugpolicy.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.