Legalisation of drugs could save UK £14bn, says study

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Duncan Campbell

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 £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, £13.9bn, £10.8bn, £7.7bn, £4.6bn."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/07/drugs-policy-legalisation-report

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If it could save that much in the UK, how much could it save in the US?

[aquart]

1. Not as much as we gave the banks, but a tidy sum.

[Democracyinkind]

2. Greetings from Portugal.... :-)

[Royal Sloan 09]

3. k & r, Legalize, YES, We Cannabis! eom

:kick:

Yes, We Cannabis!:smoke:

[Jkid]

4. It would save a lot of money.

Also, the current Mexican drug cartels would be out of business.

[NinetySix]

11. I agree wholeheartedly!

In fact, I look on it as waging economic warfare on them.

Imagine being a dealer in possession of a hundred thousand dollars worth of a particular narcotic before you went to bed one night, only to wake up in the morning to find yourself in possession of a large quantity of a commodity which you could no longer convince anyone to buy.

You'd have to start looking for new employment.

[SPedigrees]

12. Massive layoffs within the DEA and the prison industry.

Both are powerful lobbies against decriminalization, unfortunately.

[redqueen]

5. Sane drug laws...

what a concept.

[Vidar]

6. Quit bowing to pressure, Britain, from your evil cousin accross the pond & legalize now!

[Bluenorthwest]

7. Both the US and Britain

are simply rolling in money, and have so few problems that the notion of saving billions just seems friviolous, almost laughable. Why would two vastly wealthy nations wish to save a farthing when they are already burdened with far too much money for their simple needs?

[Uncle Joe]

8. Legalization isn't only more cost effective, but a superior moral policy as well.

Throwing people in prison for their addictions, helps no one, not the prisoner, not the prisoner's family, not the overall economy and not the government. There is no compassion or empathy in the current draconian policies and the destructive effect on society as a whole is a direct result.

I see nothing but a downward spiral for so long as these policies remain in effect.

Thanks for the thread, Turborama.

[NinetySix]

9. It is precisely for these reasons that I strongly oppose simple decriminalization.

Legalization and strict regulation is simply the only effective method available for winning the drug war.

I also oppose anything other than the absolute government control of the production, distribution, and marketing (of which there should be none) of any narcotic. Brown paper for cannabis, and addictive substances by no-cost medical prescription only. Any costs associated with the strict control of what would then actually be "controlled substances" would be a pittance in comparison to the extraordinarily expensive (and extremely lucrative) "War on Drugs" which is being waged right now.

But I love the framing of the OP's question, which I paraphrase:

"Imagine how much less tax you'd have to pay if drugs were legalized and regulated."

[redqueen]

10. "Imagine how much less tax you'd have to pay if drugs were legalized and regulated."

I agree, that's the way to say it.

[Fumesucker]

13. Umm... Alcohol is about as addictive as heroin and nicotine is if anything more so..

Should those two "drugs" also be available by "no-cost medical prescription only"?

Or should an exemption be made?

[4_TN_TITANS]

14. I never thought I'd live to see the day...

when there would be so much discussion about legalization. The editorial page of our TN town paper has been full of syndicated columns calling for legalization. And our local cops make a killing off of confiscated goods and cash.