All drugs should be legalized and regulated

If the war on drugs is unwinnable, I fail to see what the end game for this war might be. Simply making the drug industry illegal and incarcerating recreational users and addicts along with producers and dealers IS giving up the battle. Since drugs and drug users cannot be eliminated altogether, the challenge is to reduce the harm that drugs can cause on users, on addicts, and on society. Prohibition makes the drug problem worse, not better. "[Legalization] would result in legalized unlimited sales of all types of currently illegal drugs. This would allow drug dealers to operate freely, able to coerce more people into buying drugs and becoming drug addicts. They would be free to sell anything they like and would likely increase sales of the most dangerous types of drugs due to the larger profit margin and the absence of serious prosecution." This is why legalization of drugs needs to be coupled with regulation of the drug industry. Regulations on the production and distribution of drugs takes control of the industry out of the hands of the cartels, gangs, and street dealers. During the period of America's failed attempt at alcohol prohibition, production and distribution of alcohol became the domain of the criminal underworld. Producing, selling, and buying alcohol became as dangerous an endeavor as producing, selling, and buying cocaine and heroin is today, where these products are illegal and unregulated. It is precisely BECAUSE of the health risks that many drugs pose that the industry needs to be regulated. Most people, modern "libertarians" aside, understand the need for regulations on the production and distribution of alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical drugs because of the added risk to the public if these products and industries were unregulated. The use of any drug, whether currently legal or illegal, carries with it inherent risks. Prohibition adds to these risks, as evidenced by America's alcohol prohibition. "The removal of restrictions on drug use would lead to many people to believe taking drugs is OK. Many people who would never have tried drugs either because they were scared of the danger posed by drugs or the fear of persecution for using drugs would take drugs." Alcohol and tobacco have largely been legal and readily available in most places for as long as most of us can remember. This does not mean that people grow up being told that unchecked use of these drugs is "OK." People are educated about the risks that these drugs pose. Society has rules about who can use and purchase these drugs, who can sell them, what you are prohibited from doing while using them, and where you can use them. Drugs that are currently illegal should be subject to the same level of factual education and restriction. I say "factual" education because much of what is being taught as drug education is unneeded and counterproductive fear mongering. People do not need to fear the effects of drug use, they need to be taught the actual risks that drug use poses. In many areas, children are still being taught the erroneous view that marijuana use is a "gateway" to the use of harder drugs. They are taught that marijuana soon loses its effectiveness, and that users are driven to harder drugs to achieve their highs. Once people realize that what they have been told about marijuana use is untrue, they may question whether what they have been told about other drugs is also untrue. Facts, not fear, is what is needed. Fear of prosecution is also counterproductive when it comes to people seeking treatment for addiction. With few exceptions, alcoholics do not need to fear incarceration and/or loss of employment when they come forward seeking treatment for their addiction. Because alcohol use does not face the same social stigma as does the use of illicit drugs, society is more tolerant, accepting, and helpful to addicts looking to kick their alcohol addiction than it is to those with other chemical addictions. "The legalization of drugs would also make them much cheaper to buy." This may be true of some drugs and in some areas. As anyone who requires prescription drugs knows, legality does not always equal affordability. Lower drug prices actually has an upside for society at large. Addicts do not rob and steal because of the effects of the drugs, they do so precisely because of the high, unregulated drug prices. Lower prices means lower crime rates associated with addiction. "These factors combined would lead to an increased burden for both the police force and the health service, and will allow gang and mafia culture to thrive." Ending the war on drugs and drug users would significantly reduce the burden on the police force and the criminal justice system. Legitimizing and regulating the drug industry eliminates the need to prosecute and incarcerate producers and distributors. The production and distribution of drugs would be held to the same standards as is the production and distribution of other potentially dangerous products. Legalization and regulation would also stem the flood of recreational users and addicts into the prison system. The resources could then be used to increase funding for rehabilitation programs which are actually effective at combating addiction, unlike prison. Addiction is a medical issue and should be treated as a medical issue, not a criminal issue. Incarcerating recreational users of marijuana, cocaine, opiates, etc makes as much sense as does incarcerating recreational users of alcohol; that is to say it makes no sense whatsoever.