Pubdate: Tue, 07 Apr 2009
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2009 Guardian News and Media Limited
Contact:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Duncan Campbell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

LEGALISATION OF DRUGS COULD SAVE UK UKP 14BN, SAYS STUDY

The regulated legalisation of drugs would have major benefits for
taxpayers, victims of crime, local communities and the criminal
justice system, according to the first comprehensive comparison
between the cost-effectiveness of legalisation and prohibition. The
authors of the report, which is due to be published today, suggest
that a legalised, regulated market could save the country around UKP
14bn.

For many years the government has been under pressure to conduct an
objective cost-benefit analysis of the current drugs policy, but has
failed to do so despite calls from MPs. Now the drugs reform charity,
Transform, has commissioned its own report, examining all aspects of
prohibition from the costs of policing and investigating drugs users
and dealers to processing them through the courts and their eventual
incarceration.

As well as such savings is the likely taxation revenue in a regulated
market. However, there are also the potential costs of increased drug
treatment, education and public information campaigns about the risks
and dangers of drugs, similar to those for tobacco and alcohol, and
the costs of running a regulated system.

The report looked at four potential scenarios, ranging from no
increase in drugs use to a 100% rise as they become more readily available.

"The conclusion is that regulating the drugs market is a dramatically
more cost-effective policy than prohibition and that moving from
prohibition to regulated drugs markets in England and Wales would
provide a net saving to taxpayers, victims of crime, communities, the
criminal justice system and drug users of somewhere within the range
of, for the four scenarios, UKP 13.9bn, UKP 10.8bn, UKP 7.7bn, UKP
4.6bn."

Titled a Comparison of the Cost-effectiveness of the Prohibition and
Regulation of Drugs, the report uses government figures on the costs
of crime to assess the potential benefits and disadvantages of change.
The document, co-written by Steve Rolles, head of research at
Transform, uses home office and No 10 strategy unit reports to form
its conclusions.

It finds: "The government specifically claims the benefits of any move
away from prohibition towards legal regulation would be outweighed by
the costs. No such cost-benefit analysis, or even a proper impact
assessment of existing enforcement policy and legislation has ever
been carried out here or anywhere else in the world."

Taxing drugs would also provide big revenue gains, says the survey. An
Independent Drug Monitoring Unit estimate, quoted in the report,
suggests up to UKP 1.3bn could be generated by a UKP 1 per gram tax on
cannabis resin and UKP 2 per gram on skunk.

The report follows calls for legalisation or a full debate on reform.
Last month, the Economist concluded: "Prohibition has failed;
legalisation is the least bad solution."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin