The legalization of drugs would prevent our civil liberties from being threatened any further, it would reduce crime rates, reverse the potency effect, improve the quality of life in the inner cities, prevent the spread of disease, save the taxpayer money, and generally benefit both individuals and the community as a whole. Our arguments are based on a basic appreciation of the benefits provided by voluntary exchange and the role markets play in coordinating human activities. Legalizing drugs would eliminate many inconsistencies, guarantee freedoms, and increase the effectiveness of the government's anti-drug beliefs. The present war on drugs has not and will not produce a decisive victory. We advocate a new approach to this important social problem.
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It stands to reason that if you legalize drugs and sell them through pharmacies at or around cost you take away the profit margin from illegal sales. No profit means the absence of illegal sales, as it's the profit that motivates the drug trade.
Should we legalize drugs, and how do we do it without commissioning the government to become de facto drug dealers itself?