According to BOP Statistics, “46.2% of inmates in prison are incarcerated for drug offenses.” In the United States and countries abroad, there has been an effort to eradicate drug use and production. The war on drugs has caused upheaval, chaos, and social unrest. Undoubtedly, this war has failed and will continue to fail if we do not find a solution. With that being said, should we legalize cocaine in America? Yes, because it will save the United States money, drastically cut crime, and help the addicts’ health overall.
First, legalizing cocaine would save the United States a lot of money. The National Drug Control Budget states that, “The President’s FY 2018 Budget Request supports $27.8 billion for drug control efforts.” This is just the perspicacious cost. The implicative cost consists of poverty, violence, and people in prison. If we legalize cocaine and tax it with every purchase, it will help the government save money by eliminating expenditures such as arrests, incarcerations, secret investigations, and prosecutions. With the money from taxation, it could be used towards programs such as: treatment programs for the users, rather than sending them straight to prison, hoping they will change, better school programs, and financial support for families affected by drug usage.
The second benefit to legalizing cocaine is the reduced crime. As we see it, violence is all around us. There are some things we can and cannot control. One thing we can control is how and where we can sell legal cocaine. With cocaine being illegal right now, that does not stop consumers and drug dealers from pushing this business underground. In this underground world, many illegal things take place. Killings happen because a seller stole drugs from the provider, or addicts killing someone or robbing a store just to get their high and to meet their daily needs. Addicts even resort to criminal cartel members to get their substances. These members are known to be very violent and dangerous, not only in the United States, but even across the world. With legalizing this drug, it will cut off the cartel’s main source of income by weakening them and the black market as a whole.
Lastly, if we legalize cocaine, this can be beneficial to the consumer’s health and well-being. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “105 people in the United States die every day from drug overdoses.” That is a very scary number considering it happens every day. This number has recently risen because consumers do not know what is in their drugs when they buy it. Dealers want the cheapest, easiest route to make the biggest profit, so they have been using a substance called fentanyl. If not measured right, fentanyl can easily kill a person. The addicts are unaware of this potent drug being in their cocaine, so they either die or get highly addicted to it. With a legal and well-regulated market, this will give drug users clear, concise doses with each purchase they make. By doing this, this lowers the possibility of overdoses. In this well-regulated drug market, there will be access to clean syringes, thus decreasing the spread of diseases, and warnings present on each bottle, resulting in a much safer usage.
