Drug Legalization
... the inner city that would change. The gangs that flourished from the profits of selling crack would become "small-time" gangs. These gangs would have nothing better to do than protect their "turf". Some of the more popular gangs are "The Bloods" and "The Crips". Those kinds of gangs are not the only ones that would weaken significantly as a result of the legalization of marijuana. The biggest gang of all, The Mafia, would take a hard hit as well. However, they would not disappear completely. Organized crime would be able to survive in other criminal activities like loan- sharking, gambling, prostitution, and child pornography. Furthermore, Crock wouldn't totally disappear with the legalization of drugs. Benjamin and Miller also state that there is strong, evidence that suggests that it would cease being the drug of choice for many (175). They believe that just as the years following the prohibition of alcohol, people will choose a lower potency of their particular drug. The people that choose to sell crack after legalization won't make more money selling it than selling cosmetics or used cars. Another major effect of drug legalization would be that it would "free up" law enforcement to catch other criminals. Violent career criminals commit anywhere from 50 to 100 violent crimes per year. These crimes include robbery, rape, and murder. I believe that this is one of the most important benefits resulting from legalization. Not only will it give law enforcement less to worry about, but it will make everyday society a better and safer place to live. Moreover, the economy will benefit greatly from legalization. Actually, the economic impact of legalization would be tremendous. Ostrowski states that the estimated annual black market drug sales are in the amount of 80 billion dollars (28). Black market prices for drugs are inflated greatly. At the very least, they are inflated 10 times over what the legal price would most likely be. That is 70 billion dollars that the government can tax. Those tax dollars can be used to improve education, highways, public parks, etc. Also, there are many government agencies and groups dedicated exclusively to fighting the drug war. Courts, police, prisons are all part of this fight against drugs in the United States. The cost of running all these agencies is 10 billion dollars a year. If you really think about it, each dollar that is spent on drug enforcement yields seven dollars in economic loss (Ostrowski 29). In other words, the government takes 10 billion dollars from taxpayers and uses it to raise 80 billion dollars for drug dealers and organized crime. That figure is staggering. Moreover, Ostrowski also states that poor users victimize taxpayers by stealing 7.5 billion dollars from them (29). Also, you must take into account the amount of lost productivity these people involved in the drug business are in. These people are devoting their time and energy into a business that is not legal. The available work force in the United States would increase with the legalization of drugs. There are also those people that spend their whole day "hustling" to pay for their drugs. The 10 billion dollars spent fighting drugs does not include the amount of mo...