The crime rate in Maryland’s fourth congressional district is soaring lately and the main reason is drug related. The selling and use of drugs causes illegal gangs to be formed and increase the crime rate. In 2007 the murder rate was about to pass the all time high of 164 murders in Prince George’s county alone.
The recent crime activity due to drugs is very similar to a past historical problem. For thirteen years from 1920-1933 the United States banned the consumption and distribution of alcohol, known as prohibition. This caused a large market for criminal activity. It paved the way for the rise of Al Capone and the mafia, which led to many crimes involving both theft and murder.
The current war on drugs is using up an enormous amount of the governments money that could be put to much better use. For example the government spends about 600 dollars per second on the war on drugs. There are also many other problems that arise from this war on drugs. The United States Government will arrest around 1.6 million people for drug related violations of the law. It has also led to the Columbian civil war that is the cause of thousands of Columbian deaths as well as displaced over two million people. The United States is not successful in their war on drugs and it is only causing more problems.
A possible solution for this problem would be the legalization of drugs because it would reduce violent crimes. Dr. Michael Babula, who is running for congress in 2008, believes that legalization of drugs would have a positive effect on the economy. A new market for drugs would open such as marijuana and if law-abiding citizens who would be against drugs would be interested in entering the market if it were legalized. For users drug consumption is an inelastic product, which means that increasing the cost of drugs would not affect the demand for them. Therefore the legalization of drugs would not cause an increase in demand. In a free market the demand for soft drugs such as marijuana would outweigh the demand for hard drugs, which are more profitable for gangs and cartels to sell and distribute. If soft drugs were legalized then people would be encouraged to consume them as opposed to hard drugs. The gangs would lose a big portion of their demand and decrease the criminal activity that arises from the distribution of these hard drugs.
