FREE ESSAY ON BOOT LEGGER VERSION 2.0 (LEGALIZE DRUGS)

BOOT LEGGER VERSION 2.0 (LEGALIZE DRUGS)

I go to Tulane and received an A+ on this paper. You can't tell if a boy or girl wrote it
either. Good Luck
Bootlegger: Version 2.0
"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance... for it goes beyond the
bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and make
a crime out of things that are not a crime. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very
principle upon which our government was founded" Abraham Lincoln
On January 16, 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified by thirty-six states and became
part of the Constitution. The intention of this new amendment was to lower alcohol
consumption by Americans. At the time each American consumed on average thirty gallons of
alcohol a year.[1] This new amendment took away the license to do business from the
brewers, distillers, and the wholesale and retail sellers of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol
consumption did taper off somewhat at the beginning of prohibition only to slowly rise
back to pre-prohibition levels shortly before the end of the movement which took place on
December 5,1933. Not only was the goal of prohibition never achieved, but it raised
organized crime to levels of power unimaginable before and seriously disrupted both the
legitimacy and revenue of the government.
Just as Prohibition incited many unsavory activities, so has the War on Drugs. The
easiest way to show the connection between these to movements is an excerpt from an
article pertaining to Prohibition in America during the 1920's:
Bootleggers ran wild. Professional robberies began as soon as Prohibition did.
Territories were divided by groups of organized crime that became the scum known as the
Mafia. The territories were decided by violence and death, both against each other, as
well as those in the public who may/may not have been innocent.[2]
Extract a few words from the excerpt and replace them with the words drug dealers, War on
Drugs, and gangs and there is a description of America's current situation. The War on
Drugs intends to rid America of drugs, hard and soft, just as prohibition attempted to
rid America of drink. The arguments against the War on Drugs are the same arguments that
persuaded politicians sixty years ago to end Prohibition. Just as the movement to rid
America of alcohol failed, so will the War on Drugs because social engineering works no
better today than it did then.
The War on Drugs has given birth to many of the modern day evils. The most widespread
repercussion of the War on Drugs is the crime rate. " In 1990, the number of people sent
to state and federal prisons for drug offenses exceeded the number of offenders sent to
prison for violent crimes.... Drug offenders currently make up 62 percent of the federal
inmate population, up from 22 percent in 1980."[3] Add to this the fact that most of
these prisoners are nonviolent offenders put there under mandatory minimum sentencing
laws and the explanation for why this country is running out of prison space should be
readily apparent. 
The second most prevalent, as well as disheartening, result of this movement is the death
of innocent victims. The support for this result can be found in the obituary section of
the daily newspaper or on the five o'clock news. Even the smallest of towns have been
afflicted with death due to drugs. Back-alley heroin and basement-lab manufactured
amphetamines present the same problem as moonshine alcohol; it might be the real thing
but it might also kill anyone who takes it because the manufacturer didn't know what they
were doing. The huge profits from drugs are also the major motivation for "turf wars"
between gangs, many of whom seem to have fairly bad aim and hit innocent bystanders as
often as each other. To add insult to injury, the greatest backlash of the War on Drugs
is the economic and financial damage. In the Cato Policy Analysis No.121 it states:
A common estimate of annual black market drug sales would be about $80 billion.[55]
Because the black market price of drugs is inflated at the very least 10-fold over what
the legal price would be , 90 percent of this figure, or about 70 billion, constitutes an
economic loss caused by prohibition. That is, the drug user (and his dependents) is
deprived of the purchasing power of 90 percent of the money he spends on illegal drugs
without any net benefit accruing to the economy as a whole.[56]
Since the War on Drugs costs fifteen billion dollars a year, it is hard to understand why
the government is trying to eliminate and not take over an eighty billion dollar market.
Drug Prohibition without a doubt has reaped no benefits and has escalated all it intended
to conquer. 
The down side of drug legalization would be limited. Narcotics agents would be somewhat
affected. The career description of a narcotics agent would switch from arrests and
seizures to ensuring the quality of narcotics. The public would be made aware of drug use
among American officials. Present addicts would most likely have a 'field day' at first.
Legalization will have an affect on America, but it seems like a small price to pay in
order to ensure the economic stability, health, and welfare for generations of Americans
to come.
Governmental regulation of the manufacturing and sale of drugs would benefit America as a
whole. Death due to unsanitary production methods and the 'lacing' of drugs would be
eliminated. The taxation of drugs would have a tremendous effect on our nation.
Government produced drugs would cost a considerable amount less, leaving the drug user
money to spend on other taxed items. A reduction in crime would occur, freeing up prison
space and time to seek out and prosecute violent criminals Most of the drug related crime
occurs when the addict is in need of money to buy the drug. Legalization would put the
drug lords out of business and abolish the black market, thereby keeping the pushers out
of schools and off streets. Innocent adults and children would not be struck down by a
disgruntled drug lord's stray bullet. Law enforcement agents would not have to engage in
life threatening and often ending drug seizures. 
The greatest outcome of legalization would be the tax money accrued by the sale of drugs,
endowing numerous government programs, such as programs for the rehabilitation of
addicts, healthcare, education, and the preservation of national forests and monuments.
Funding educational programs would rejuvenate the public school system and greatly
improve the quality of scholastic endeavors. Schools will be refurbished and equipped
with state of the art learning tools. Teachers will receive pay raises. Students will be
in an environment conducive to learning. Not to mention violence in schools will diminish
drastically. Public schools across America would phase out drug addicts by teaching drug
awareness, tolerance and moderation. 
It is quite clear that the War on Drugs is failing. A drug free country would be ideal.
So would an alcohol-free country, a pollution-free country, and most likely a fast
food-free country. None of these things will happen, so we have to make the best out of
the situation as it is presented. The only practical method of dealing with this problem
is the legalization of drugs and time to allow the 'bad seeds' filter out. In the mean
time the government should take advantage of the money drug revenues will generate to
supply the youth of America with the knowledge to make the right choice. 
Bibliography
Bibliography
[1] http://www.cohums.ohio-state.state.edu/history/projects/prohibition/consumption.ht
[2] http://americanhistory.about.prohibition/aa072100b.htm?iam=mt&terms=%2Bprohibition
[3] http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/4727/alt-wod-faq.html
[4]http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa121.html