drug legalizationphilosophical.space/304/drugs1.pdf · drug legalization monday, august 30, 2010....
TRANSCRIPT
DRUG LEGALIZATION
Monday, August 30, 2010
ARGUMENTS FOR LEGALIZING DRUGS
Why drug laws should be repealed
Monday, August 30, 2010
Benefits of liberty
BENEFITS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Benefits of liberty
Benefits from drug use (pleasure, medicinal uses, social interaction)
BENEFITS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Benefits of liberty
Benefits from drug use (pleasure, medicinal uses, social interaction)
Experiments in living benefit others who learn from it
BENEFITS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Benefits of liberty
Benefits from drug use (pleasure, medicinal uses, social interaction)
Experiments in living benefit others who learn from it
Limiting choices harms everyone by limiting information
BENEFITS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Who is an agent of an action? Mill answers: Someone who, in doing it, is
Free (not coerced)
Voluntary (competent to choose)*
Informed (knows what he/she is doing)*
LIBERTY
Monday, August 30, 2010
Drug users are agents
Free
Voluntary
Informed
LIBERTY
Monday, August 30, 2010
Drug use is generally self-regarding
Drug users don’t threaten rights of others
Exceptions:
Drunk driving
Police officer drunk on duty
Stoned professor
LIBERTY
Monday, August 30, 2010
Mill’s bridge: If no one else is at risk,
we can stop someone from crossing
but can only warn of danger
Can educate, but cannot prohibit
LIBERTY
Monday, August 30, 2010
MILL’S BRIDGE
You may stop someone to warn of the danger,
but then must let them pass
unless there is a certainty that they will fall into the river
Monday, August 30, 2010
Concern: You care most about your own good; you have stronger incentive to protect yourself than anyone else has to protect you
Information: You know most about your own good; your choices are more likely to lead to happiness than those anyone else might select
MILL’S CRITIQUE OF GOVERNMENT ACTION
Monday, August 30, 2010
Courts (case loads, costs, delays)
Police ($20 billion/year)
Prisons ($10 billion/year—over $22,000 per prisoner— 1/2 prison population there for drug-related offenses)
Lost tax revenue: $10 billion/year
COSTS
Monday, August 30, 2010
This isn’t just financial
It’s years out of people’s lives
Having a record continues to harm them long after they’re out of prison
COSTS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Enforcement is ineffective
We fought a war against drugs—and lost
Drug use continues
INEFFECTIVENESS
Monday, August 30, 2010
INEFFECTIVENESS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Increased harms from drugs
Switches to stronger, more easily concealed drugs with higher profit margins
No controls on quality, strength, contamination
No information about reasonable use
INCREASED HARMS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Corruption*
OTHER HARMS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Violence
OTHER HARMS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Loss of respect for law (inconsistency)
OTHER HARMS
Monday, August 30, 2010
“Tyranny of the majority”
OTHER HARMS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Racial profiling
This isn’t just a matter of prejudice
Drug crimes are typically victimless—no one reports them, testifies, etc.
How else to you try to enforce laws against victimless crimes?
OTHER HARMS
Monday, August 30, 2010
Imprisoned African-Americans
African-Americans are 12% of the U.S. population, but 44% of those incarcerated
51% of those in state prisons are there solely for nonviolent offenses
OTHER HARMS
Monday, August 30, 2010
United States: 546
Georgia: 730
Texas: 700
Florida: 636
California: 607
Other Countries:
Italy: 89UK: 86France: 84Germany: 80Holland: 51
RATES OF IMPRISONMENT (100,000)
Monday, August 30, 2010
RATES OF IMPRISONMENT
Monday, August 30, 2010