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Article: The economics of drug prohibition and drug legalization.
- Article from:
- Social Research
- Article date:
- September 22, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 New School for Social Research. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I. Introduction
AROUND the world, the legal status of commodities such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin differs dramatically from that of nearly all other goods. Most commodities are subject to substantial regulation and taxation, but the production, distribution, sale, and possession of illegal drugs are prohibited outright. Violation of these prohibitions is punishable by lengthy jail terms, and many governments devote enormous resources to enforcing these prohibition regimes.
The presumed justification for the special legal treatment of drugs is that drug use causes substantial harm both to drug users and to society generally. According to ...