Economics: Analysis of the US War on Drugs and its Impact

This economics essay examines the US War on Drugs, its origins, and its impact on various aspects of society. The essay begins by outlining the aims and objectives of the War on Drugs, discussing its proponents' arguments regarding public health, social wealth, and criminal activities. It then delves into the economic consequences, including the prohibition's impact on drug markets, potential violence, and corruption. The essay also analyzes the disproportionate impact on African Americans and the role of incarceration rates, particularly in relation to the criminalization of specific communities. It further explores the concept of opportunity cost in the context of marijuana legalization and applies demand and supply theory to analyze the effects of legalization on drug markets. The essay concludes by referencing relevant academic sources and providing a comprehensive overview of the economic and social implications of the War on Drugs.

Running Head: ECONOMICS
ECONOMICS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Question 1:
The War on Drugs began under President Richard Nixon, and the movement continues to
enact and enforce policies related to the prohibition of Drugs for the achievement of varied
objectives. The proponents of US Drug policy argue that the drug use and trafficking adversely
impact the public health, social wealth, unemployment issues, criminal activities and its
promotion, corruption in the activities related to law enforcement, and other officials elected by
the government (Brown 2017). Thus, the aim of the war on drugs is to combat the alleged
adversities of the illicit use of drugs resulting in the jeopardizing of our health and social well-
being. It has been contended that banning the use of drugs would help the officials in achieving
their target to eradicate the drug market. However, it has been argued that the prohibition acts as
a taxation scheme on the sellers and vendors who are engaged in the marketing of drugs
including the cost in capturing the vendors and sellers and eradicating their business models.
Further the violence in the drug markets may be an outcome of the restriction imposed by the
prohibition and not from the inter-gang rivalry (Andreas 2019). Thus, it has been explained that
it is the prohibition and the idea of restriction which has led to the violence in the market and
increased corruption because the once a substance is illegal, the buyers and sellers are
automatically referred to as the criminals and hence the failure of the policy because it paves way
for higher cost when the supply is less with demand, and other factors remaining the same.
Question 2:
The Human Rights Watch has observed increasing and high number of arrest rates which
can be explained as disproportion towards the African Americans who were targeted for the
purpose(Lim 2018). It has been explained that the war On Drugs was specifically designed to

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criminalize black and hippie communities for the purpose of drug market (Rengert 2018). The
incarceration rates in United States is an outcome of the war on drugs and its imposition on the
market at various stages. With the development of privatization and for-profit prison industry, it
has been explained that the US Department of Justice has stated that the drug offenses has
accounted for the total of 27% of the total growth among the black inmates (Browning, Miller
and Spruance 2018). In 1986 laws were passed based on which the disparity was created in the
penalty provisions related to the possession of crack and the powder cocaine leading to wide
criticism among the people with respect to discrimination among minorities who were engaged
in the use of crack more than the powder cocaine (Reinarman and Levine 2017). Further, the
laws explained that the penalty provision for the possession of 5 grams of crack and 500 grams
of powder cocaine was the same which led to discrimination among the minorities. However, the
disparity was focused to have been reduced by the introduction of Fair Sentencing Act in 2010.
Thus, it can be explained that the policy makes implied the economic thinking because the
demand for crack cocaine was more than the powder cocaine due to the increasing population
and commonly being used among the minorities and the targeted communities and thus, the best
way to target the communities would be to target the penalty provision for the use of substance
which is widely being used by them.
Question 3:
Opportunity Cost theory is the key concept in economics explaining that when the cost
incurred by not enjoying the alternative is associated with the basic alternative choice, then such
cost is called the opportunity cost (Buchanan 2017). In the case of marijuana, the legalization of
marijuana has led to the cost incurred for not being able to enjoy the alternatives because
alternatives lead to criminal activities. Applying the demand and supply theory (Becker 2017),

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all other factors remaining the same, when the demand is high the cost shall be low and the
supply shall be high when the cost is low meaning that the demand and supply are inversely
proportional to each other. When the demand is high, the cost is low and the supply is also low.
However, legalization of marijuana has led to the fact that the demand is high and the supply is
also high and hence the cost shall also be high tending to the needs and supply of the customers
and the market. Thus it can be explained that the legalization of marijuana has led to the increase
in the potency of pot.

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REFERENCE:
Andreas, P., 2019. Drugs and War: What Is the Relationship?. Annual Review of Political Science, 22,
pp.57-73.
Becker, G.S., 2017. Economic theory. Routledge.
Brown, C., 2017. Beyond the Money: Expected (and unexpected) Consequences of America's War on
Drugs. Lincoln Memorial University Law Review, 4(2), p.5.
Browning, S.L., Miller, R.R. and Spruance, L.M., 2018. Criminal incarceration dividing the ties that bind:
Black men and their families. In Impacts of incarceration on the African American family (pp. 87-102).
Routledge.
Buchanan, J.M., 2017. Opportunity cost. The new Palgrave dictionary of economics, pp.1-5.
Lim, Y., 2018. Understanding the War on Drugs in America through the Lens of Critical Race
Theory. BLR, p.156.
Reinarman, C. and Levine, H.G., 2017. The crack attack: America’s latest drug scare, 1986-1992.
In Images of issues (pp. 147-186). Routledge.
Rengert, G.F., 2018. The geography of illegal drugs. Routledge.