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Comment by dariusj18 | Hacker News Reader

What kind of drug crime are you referring to? If it entails dealing of drugs than I don't think ending the war on drugs will have a net effect. (Not that I don't think we shouldn't) Drugs are a lucrative business when made illegal, this can be seen a quick way to combat ones economic situation (created by major/historic societal imbalances). Legalize drugs and drugs would certainly not be the lucrative business, but something else criminal would take its place. IMO dealing with the economic imbalance is the priority, decriminalizing drugs only helps eliminate a portion of the chicken/egg variables.

As an aside, even with decriminalized drug usage/possession there would still be laws against illegal manufacturing, distribution and tax avoidance.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_involvement_in_Contra_coca...

> A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s. ... The subject remains controversial.

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> something else criminal would take its place.

A. Like what?

B. Drugs are only criminal because we make laws. Theft, killing, etc.. are wrong but doing drugs is just stupid.

> something else criminal would take its place

Like what? Burglary? Insider trading? I'm not backhanding you here; I genuinely can't come up with any reasonably criminal activity that would blossom into that vacuum.

Protection, extortion, gambling, human trafficking, other contraband goods, and sure, burglary and robbery. Lots of things that could be more violent to the population at large then drug dealing (after all, you don't really want to kill your customers).

There weren't any surges in human trafficking, burglary & robbery recorded after prohibition was lifted. There was a steep decline in contraband goods, however.

I'd need to see the localized statistics on that. We're not talking about an overall effect, but a very specific effect on a very specific segment of the population.

The point is the criminal organizations aren't going to simply disappear if/when drugs are legalized. They're going to pivot to some other illegal activity to preserve their livelihood. Perhaps more conventional crimes like money laundering, loan sharking, and political graft will be less violent. But they certainly survived the end of prohibition without going legitimate.

Except... they kind of did. Prohibition created revenue opportunity for gangs and organized crime. Ending prohibition removed this revenue, replacing the speakeasy with legalized and regulated bars and liquor stores, effectively cutting off this revenue stream.

Sure the Mob didn't magically disappear overnight, but it began a decline they never recovered from. Replacing that revenue stream isn't as easy as "just" finding another racket, there is a lot of difficulty hidden in that "just".

I wonder, if we decriminalize drugs and give priority for licenses and rights to ex dealers and gangsters if that would be a good thing or a bad thing.

In a way it kills two birds with one stone, 1. Eliminates the criminal element, 2. Offers a financial incentive towards legitimizing their enterprise.

In another it might reward people who may have done a lot of bad things, and puts them in a legitimized position of power over people they may have been terrorizing for decades.

I think society was a little different then. People had a shot at changing their life and switching to legitimate work. That's not really possible any more; once you have a felony arrest, you've got a black mark against you. Low-level jobs that might be willing to hire ex-cons don't realistically pay enough to support someone.

I'm not saying we shouldn't legalize drugs; I'm just saying any such policy change should also include some help for individuals to move away from that life or they'll more-or-less be forced into other illegal activities.

> decriminalizing drugs only helps eliminate a portion of the chicken/egg variables.

If the last forty years of Southern Strategy has taught us anything it’s that you must seize every inch (portion) of ground you can.

> What kind of drug crime are you referring to?

Having, using, and selling drugs. The first two should be considered personal liberties, and the commerce should be taxed/regulated but not criminalized.

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