The “L” Word and the “D” Word

The words, “legalization” and “decriminalization” should be struck from the vocabularies of all people who support the basic ideas which they represent. To suggest that we need to “legalize” something that is illegal or to “decriminalize” something that has been traditionally considered a crime for a century only feeds the powerful propaganda machine which operates in conjuction with the war on drugs.

Advocates of drug policy reform — whom prohibitionists call “legalizers” — understand the true meaning of those two words, but the general public has been trained to equate them with a sort of chaos and anarchy which will turn America into a “nation of stoned-out zombies.” Even in the minds of average Americans who agree that the war on drugs has failed, those two words are not percieved as viable solutions to the failure of interdiction because they are not so much solutions as they are platitudes.

To simply state that prohibition doesn’t work so we ought to just “legalize it” only leads the skeptical to ask, “then what?” Because it is not logical to suggest the repeal of nearly 100 year-old policies without offering some detailed, concrete alternatives. Plus, attempts to demonize staus quo laws and policies are almost always ineffective because the people who try can easily be put on the defensive with accusations of “giving in to the criminal element.”

The real evil of prohibitionist policies is the black market they created and continue to support. Therefore, it is more effective to demonize the lawless black market rather than the law itself because those laws still continue to successfully masquerade as deterrents to the black market. The idea is to break that circular reasoning by emphasizing how prohibitionist policies feed and nurture the black market instead of deterring it.

The black market in unregulated drugs is a low-risk, high profit business because of — not in spite of — the “war on drugs.” The black market drug business thrives without taxes, restrictions or regulations. The black market considers interdiction as one small line-item in its loss column, mere “spillage” which can be easily minimized by producing and moving more product (and so what if quality and purity suffer in the process?).

The black market drug business is not regulated. The black market does not have labeling or packaging requirements. The black market is not subject to zoning restricitions or licensing or regulatory inspections. Black market businesses do not collect sales taxes or pay income or property taxes. Today’s war on drugs, like Prohibition in the 1920s, has become the ultimate de-regulation policy.

Black market drugs usually come packaged in plain plastic bags. There are no warning labels on plain plastic bags. There are no usage or dosage instructions on plain plastic bags. There are no listings of active ingredients and their potency on plain plastic bags. There is no mention of inactive ingredients, fillers or additives on plain plastic bags. There is no expiration date on a plain plastic bag. The net weight of the
contents is not printed on plain plastic bags. The address of the manufacturer, grower, distributor or seller is not printed on plain plastic bags. Many of these drugs in question may be unhealthy for their consumers, but prohibitionist policies make them far more dangerous than they should be.

Black market drug dealers sell drugs to anyone who has enough cash. Black market drug dealers will sell drugs to people who are obviously intoxicated. Black market drug dealers do not ask for or require proof of age and will knowingly sell drugs to minors. Prohibitionist policies do not protect our children from drugs, in fact they make it easier for kids to buy drugs.

Black market drug dealers do not have licenses that may be suspended or revoked due to improper business practices or failure to comply with regulations and restrictions because there are no regulations or restrictions. The black market drug business is basically free-for-all anarchy which is empowered by prohibitionist policies and the artificial inflation which creates opportunities for huge revenues requiring very little actual effort for anyone willing to assume the small risk of interdiction.

Black market drug manufacturers, growers, distributors and sellers are not subjected to regulatory inspections of their factories, crops, distribution outlets or retail storefronts. Black market drugs are not inspected for purity, potency or freshness. Black market drug factories do not have to comply with fire, safety or sanitation regulations (think about this the next time a methamphetamine lab explodes and causes a dangerous environmental hazard). Black market drug factories are not subjected to inspection of their equipment or manufacturing processes. Black market crops are not inspected for parasites, pesticides or purity. Black market distributors do not have to comply with business practice or pricing regulations or restrictions. Black market retailers do not have their storefronts inspected for fire hazards, safety violations, sanitaiton and other regulatory and fair business practices requirements. Prohibitonist policies prevent the regulation of the drug business, but not the manufacture, sale and use of drugs.

Black market retail drug dealers set up shop and sell drugs just about anywhere that they please, including in and near public and private schools. Black market retail storefronts can be found in private homes, automobiles, abandoned buildings, public restrooms or on park benches and street corners and just about anywhere else where potential
customers may be found. Prohibitionists policies have painted us into a corner in which no authority or agency really knows who is selling what to whom, where they are selling it or for how much.

Since there are no licensing or zoning requirements, black market manufacturers, growers, distributors and sellers do not pay any licensing or zoning fees. Black market drug dealers do not pay income taxes or property taxes and they do not collect sales taxes. Prohibitionist policies have never produced results that justify their cost to taxpayers, but they have creates and continue to support a wealthy class of tax-exempt black market profiteers.

The black market drug business has no consumer advocacy agencies or fair business practice and pricing associations. Black market drug dealers, growers, manufacturers and consumers who have grievances cannot go to a court of law to settle their differences or turn to law enforcement in the event of theft or fraud. Black market drug dealers and their competitors, distributors, manufacturers and customers settle disputes with each other using guns and violence. Black market businesses cannot contact law enforcement regarding theft or fraud. In the event of theft or fraud, black market businesses turn to their own armed �enforcers.� Prohibitionist policies cause violent crime.

Which is why we do not need to “legalize” illegal drugs, we need to regulate unregulated drugs.