Pubdate: Thu, 18 Apr 2013
Source: Reno News & Review (NV)
Copyright: 2013, Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/issues/reno/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2524
Author: Dennis Myers

ON THE RIGHT: END DRUG WAR

The rightist Nevada Public Research Institute has called for an end to
drug prohibition.

"Nevada governments spent roughly $258 million in 2008 to enforce drug
prohibition within the state's borders," the group said in lengthy
paper on Nevada issues titled Solutions 2013. "This includes $51
million for policing, $62 million in judicial expenses and $150
million for corrections. As these figures indicate, enforcing the
prohibition of a substance for which there is significant demand can
be a costly proposal."

Where drug warriors tend to blame drug-related violence on drug use,
NPRI argues that drug prohibition causes it:

"Because buyers and sellers within black markets cannot turn to the
legal system to solve disputes or protect property rights, only
violent means remain. Indeed, many scholars argue that prohibition
increases the rate of violence in society. When the legal system fails
to recognize property rights and contract law, black markets thrive,
generating opportunities for individuals to now profit through the
most unscrupulous of behaviors. Drug cartels, narco-terrorism and gang
violence spread-as America now witnesses daily on its southwestern
borders. Because of such effects, researchers have found, higher
public spending on prohibition enforcement leads to higher murder
rates and other violent crimes. Hence, prohibition enforcement appears
to be a public safety expenditure that actually endangers the public
safety."

NPRI also asserted that prohibition creates a market and ending
prohibition reduces drug use: "Significantly, in Europe also, in the
decade since Portugal decriminalized the possession of all drugs,
usage rates in that nation have declined across the board."

On marijuana-the Nevada Legislature is now considering making it
legal-NPRI contends that there is a good fiscal reason for doing so:
"Of the $258 million that Nevada taxpayers spent to enforce drug
prohibition in 2008, nearly $50 million was spent to counter private
citizens' ability to possess small amounts of marijuana: More than
7,000 citizens were arrested for simple possession of marijuana."
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MAP posted-by: Matt