Is there a more efficient and ethical way to reduce drug abuse in the US than by conducting a war on drugs?

Yes

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by Zachary Boswell

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Many of the tactics implemented in the current war on drugs are effective and should be continued. Cutting off the supply of drugs is essential to curtailing drug use and trafficking. That noted, there are other potentially superior methods of dealing with drug use that are not being properly addressed. These methods are brought to light when the drug market is identified as just another economic market. The real question is one of incentives. What incentive does an addict have to use drugs? What are his incentives to give up the drugs?

The answer to the war on drugs question lies in the unbalancing of these incentives. Society must tip the scales in favor of sobriety. The aforementioned curbing of supply is definitely an important step but obviously not the answer in and of itself. A reduction in supply without a reduction in demand will raise the price of a good, in this case drugs, and lower the quantity demanded. But typical economics will support that the market for drugs as a consumer good is very inelastic. A change in the supply does not quickly result in a change in the quantity demanded. Over time, perhaps, addicts will probably look for cheaper more available alternatives to their drugs of choice whether it be a different drug or paint to huff, but in the short run they will continue to buy regardless of the prices. Why is this so? Well primarily because the science of economics is based on rational behavior. An addict is not looking out for his own best interests monetarily or physically. So it would seem that the principles governing economics do not apply to drug consumption. Or do they?

For this problem, the demand, not the supply, is key. If drug users were provided with rehabilitation combined with a real escape from their former spheres of influence, the results would be dramatic. Give addicts a real chance by separating them from those negative peer groups. Drug dealers need an opportunity to succeed with skills applicable to other more legitimate career avenues. The drug dealer should be de-idolized as the glamor occupation portrayed in film and the ghettos. Dealing drugs should be portrayed realistically. It is simply another job with bad pay, no career advancement, and a death rate.

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