Pubdate: Tue, 15 Jan 2013
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2013 Robert L. DuPont
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Authors: Robert L. DuPont, M.D., Peter Bensinger, Linden Blue
Note: 5th of 5 responses to OPED: 
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n013/a04.html

CAN DRUG LEGALIZATION END THE DESTRUCTION OF LIVES?

When Profs. Becker and Murphy suggest that the illegal status of drugs
"may increase addiction rates, and it may even increase the total
number of addicts," they are dead wrong. Lower rates of illegal drug
use mean lower rates of addiction. Both use of a drug and the
prevalence of addiction are closely tied to availability of a drug,
perceived risk of harm from use of that drug and price. The prevalence
of illegal drug use remains very low compared with "legal" drugs
because their illegality reduces their availability, maintains higher
perception of risk from harm, and raises prices.

The rate of past-month use of illicit drugs by Americans age 12 and
older declined 38% from its peak of 14.1% in 1979 to 8.7% in 2011. How
many other public-health problems are labeled failures that have seen
such a remarkable decline over a similar period of time?

In 2011 51.8% of Americans used alcohol, 26.5% used tobacco and only
8.7% used any of the illegal drugs in the past month (7% used
marijuana). The much lower rates of use of illegal drugs are not the
result of a difference in their effect on brain biology. They are the
result of their being illegal.

Most of the costs of illegal drugs result from their use and not from
efforts to reduce their use. Legalization, cleverly renamed by Messrs.
Becker and Murphy as "full decriminalization," will dramatically raise
use and therefore is not a part of any sensible plan to reduce drug
use and its tragic costs.

Robert L. DuPont, M.D.

Former director, National Institute on Drug Abuse (1973-1978)

Rockville, Md.

Peter Bensinger

Former administrator,

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (1976-1981)

Chicago

Linden Blue

Trustee, Hudson Institute

San Diego
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