The Issue of Drug Legalization, and Why I’m Against it (For Now)

In some of my spare time today (because I’m a tool and this is what I do), I was pondering the idea of drug legalization, especially in light of America’s recent skirmishes with Mexican drug cartels. Now, I really want to support drug legalization, as the main arguments of civil libertarians who purport the idea make perfect sense to me. If drugs are legalized, the prison population decreases, less money goes into jails and prisons, and the taxpayer saves a pretty penny. Also, it should not be the government’s place to legalize morality, which is the way many legalization activists view drug laws. However, there is one thing holding me back from support, but this thought is so strong it singlehandedly forces me to support current anti-drug laws. Meaning, of course, if I am convinced that this argument is bunk (which it well may be), I would be in support of legalization.

The thought is this: much of the money from drug sales in the end funds very dangerous criminal organizations, from the mafia and street gangs here in the United States to paramilitary groups in Latin America, and even the Taliban in Afghanistan. Drug laws of course make the sales of drugs illegal, meaning these organizations have to invest a lot more time and probably money into disguising their operation. Thus, fewer resources are available for things the groups actually “need”, like more advanced weaponry and training. My fear is that drug legalization in the short term would do two things:

1. It would add a great sense of legitimacy to the economic workings of hostile organizations, meaning less valuable resources would have to be spent hiding illegal activities, and therefore…

2. Give these organizations more resources to devote to the purchase of advanced weaponry and other things which have the potential to harm the citizens of a nation.

In essence, this becomes a national security issue, especially when applied to the growing power of the Mexican drug gangs, which already have vast resources at their disposal despite illegal drugs( of course, much of this is also due to police corruption and inaction on the part of the Mexican government, so it would be unfair to say this is a result of drug sales alone.) Or, on a broader scale, consider the Taliban as aforementioned, who generates a large percentage of their revenue from heroin production from famed Afghan poppies. Imagine giving one of the largest economic workings of a terrorist organization legitimacy in the very country it aims to destroy. They would, quite simply, become a much more dangerous organization than they are now with the new income available for more advance terror tools.

Of course, many would argue that the reason criminal organizations use drugs as such an economic crutch in the first place is because of their very illegality, and I believe this is true. However, it would be unrealistic to alleviate these laws and suddenly expect these groups to change gears. Thus, for now, I think it is best we work with what we have, and perhaps wait until these very dangerous organization wield less clout in issues of American security before we consider legalization.