Since the start of the war on drugs under President Richard Nixon, the federal budget for counter-narcotics has grown from $100 million in 1970 to $15.1 billion in 2010, with a total estimated cost of nearly $1 trillion over 40 years. During the same period, an estimated 37 million non-violent drug-related offenders were imprisoned. $121 billion was spent to arrest these criminals and $450 billion to lock them up. [44] There has long been talk of the legalization of soft drugs in Ukraine. In June 2016, Parliament received a bill to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. It dealt with amendments to the current Law on Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors and was registered under number 4533. [77] The document must be examined by the competent commission and then submitted to the government. This was supposed to happen in the fall of 2016, but the bill was not considered. While much drug use remains illegal, increasing efforts are underway to legalize or decriminalize certain categories of drugs (such as marijuana and heroin), despite international drug treaties prohibiting the non-medical use of marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines and heroin (Hall, 2017). This is partly related to evidence that drugs such as marijuana or heroin, which were previously classified as having no medical value, could have potential medical benefits.
These efforts are also based on the experience of countries such as Portugal, which decriminalized all illicit drugs in 2001 and reported a decrease in societal problems related to drugs, as well as support for the legalization of drugs such as marijuana for non-medical purposes in countries such as Canada and Uruguay (Room, 2014; Goncalves et al., 2015; Cox, 2018). Several European countries and Canada have now advocated the use of oral and injectable heroin (diacetylmorphine or diamorphine) as an effective drug for heroin use disorders in individuals who do not otherwise respond to treatment (Ayanga et al., 2016). In 2021, Vancouver and Toronto city councils voted to decriminalize simple possession of all drugs; and submitted proposals in which the Federal Minister of Health requested a special exemption, citing countless scientific, psychological, medical and socio-economic benefits. [109] In 2001, Portugal became the first European country to abolish all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs under Law 30/2000. [74] In addition, drug users should receive treatment instead of imprisonment. A study commissioned by the Cato Institute and led by Glenn Greenwald found that in the five years since decriminalization began, illicit drug use by adolescents had declined, the rate of HIV infection among drug users had decreased, deaths related to heroin and similar drugs had been reduced by more than half, and the number of people who were being treated for substance abuse. [75] However, Peter Reuter, professor of criminology and public policy at the University of Maryland, College Park, suggests that heroin use rates and related deaths may be due to the cyclical nature of drug epidemics, but acknowledged that „decriminalization in Portugal has achieved its central goal. Drug use has not increased. [22] Drug criminalization has many economic and social implications. According to economist Mark Thornton, prohibition increases crime (theft, violence, corruption) and the price of drugs, and increases potency. [33] In many developing countries, drug production offers a way out of poverty.
Milton Friedman estimated that more than 10,000 deaths a year in the United States are caused by the criminalization of drugs, and if drugs were legalized, innocent victims, such as those shot in shootings, would cease or decrease. [ref. needed] The economic inefficiency and ineffectiveness of these government interventions in preventing drug trafficking have been strongly criticized by drug-free advocates. The U.S. war on drugs, which has prompted legislation in several other Western administrations, has also drawn criticism for these reasons. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron estimated that ending the war on drugs would inject $76.8 billion into the U.S. economy in 2010 alone. [42] He estimates that the government would save $41.3 billion on enforcement and generate up to $46.7 billion in tax revenue. [43] This study appears to be the first to systematically examine the views of Americans who use substances and those who do not about the legalization and decriminalization of several substances, and the findings are relevant to current and future policies.
Legalization/decriminalization of marijuana was supported, but not for other drugs, despite changing attitudes in other countries. As more is known about the potential health benefits of certain substances that may result in policy changes towards their legalization or decriminalization, it is important that those directly affected by the policy changes (e.g., those who use substances) be included in these discussions to bring their unique perspectives. Studies of people on TUD treatment or people with varying degrees of SUD severity are also warranted, as they may be even more insightful in informing guidelines on legalization/decriminalization and the use of currently illegal drugs used to treat SUDs. It is also important to monitor and track changes in attitudes and beliefs over time. These nuances can impact public health messaging and the ability to target specific groups. The legalization of drugs would affect the supply and demand that exists today with these illicit substances. The price of production would increase due to the costs associated with the transportation and distribution of these substances. [34] Drug prohibition has been found to have resulted in a reduction in the surplus of users. The decrease in consumption is due to the increase in the price of these drugs. Individuals reacted to price increases from high levels, rather than reacting to prices that started low. [35] This is a clear example of how supply and demand are influenced. Drug liberalization is a drug policy process aimed at decriminalizing or legalizing the use or sale of illicit drugs.
Variants of drug liberalization include: drug legalization, drug relegalization, and drug decriminalization. [1] Proponents of drug liberalization could advocate a regulatory system for the production, marketing and distribution of some or all currently illicit drugs in a manner similar to that of alcohol, caffeine and tobacco. The National Assembly on Friday submitted its amendments to the Ministry of Health, which would place marijuana and plant kratom in the category that allows their authorized possession and distribution under regulated conditions. The ministry reviewed the changes before forwarding them to cabinet, which sent them back to the National Assembly for a final vote.
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