e have been escalating costs spent on the war against drugs and countless dollars spent on rehabilitation. Every year in the United States, ten billion dollars are spent on enforcing drug laws alone. Drug violators accounted for about forty percent of all criminals in federal prisons (Marijuana retains.., 1990, p.A-6). In 1989, a Republican county executive of Mercer County, N.J., estimated that it would costs approximately one billion dollars to build the jail space required to house all the drug users in Trenton alone(Talah, 1993, p. 1-7). All of this money could be spent on things of greater importance. Not only has the drug problem increased, but drug related problems are on the rise. Drug abuse is a killer worldwide. Some are born addicts (crack babies), while others develop addictions later in life. Drug violators are a major cause of extreme overcrowding in US prisons. In 1992, 59000 inmates were added to make a record setting 833600 inmates nationwide. A high percentage of these prisoners were serving time because of drug related incidents. Since 1982, there has been a 160 percent increase in inmate population. One can only imagine what that number is today. Most of this increase is attributed to drug violators, and sadly, this number will only continue to rise(Lorimer, 1993, p.214). 1991 was the most murderous year in the United States since 1972, and police estimated that forty percent of these homicides were drug related(Lorimer, 1993, p.215). Legalizing hemp and other drugs would deter future criminal acts, therefore slowly, but effectively lessening crime. Legalizing drugs would also increase countries revenue. During prohibition, alcohol use was still rampant. People were still drinking, only it was illegal. In the US, the 21st amendment annulled prohibition and alcohol taxes were increased. The same thing should be done with marijuana and other illegal drug today. The drugs should be heavily taxed to increase revenue. The...
