Beginning of Essay
The Federal Government, while trying to protect us from our human nature, developed harsh anti-drug policies with the hope of eradicating drugs. At the time, these policies seemed simple enough: we will impose penalties on those who use substances illegally, we wi ....

Middle of Essay
.... a year. The federal government spends at least $10 billion a year on drug enforcement programs and spends many billions more on drug-related crimes and punishment. The estimated cost to the United States for the "War on Drugs" is $200 billion a year or an outstanding $770 per person per year, and that figure does not include the money spent by state and local government in this "war" (Evans and Berent, eds. xvii). The second cost of this "war" is something economists call opportunity costs. Here, we have two limited resources: prison cells and law enforcement. When more drug crimes take up law enforcement's time and when more drug criminals take up ....