Even though crime is high in high-drug use areas not because people are committi ng a crime to get drugs,

but the influence of the drugs made them more inclined to commit a crime. Crime would rule as people would need more and more money to fulfill their growing habit. Sure crime stats would go down on the drug charges but is really worth self destruction? Crime and violence associated with drug tr afficking threaten to destabilize the region further, despite U.S. The drug wars in Mexico have left some 50,000 dead since 2006, crime happens because people w ant something they can't get otherwise. But if a (global) society was given ever ything it needed (which would, of course, include legal access to drugs) then th at would resolve serious global problems leading, in part, to a prolonged peace because prohibition laws negate self-ownership and are an absolute affront to th e principles of freedom. I disagree vehemently with the recreational use of drug s, but at the same time, if people are only free to make good decisions, they ar e not truly free. and prohibition costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars ev ery year, yet 40 years and some 40 million arrests later, drugs are cheaper, mor e potent and far more widely used than at the beginning of this futile crusade. Prohibition has failed to control the use and domestic production of marijuana. The government has tried to use criminal penalties to prevent marijuana use for over 75 years and yet: marijuana is now used by over 25 million people annually, cannabis is currently the largest cash crop in the United States, and marijuana is grown all over the planet. Prohibition of alcohol and its aftermath is a goo d example of why pot should be legalized. In comparison to alcohol, there is no real evidence out there that pot is anywhere near as harmful. [26] http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/stopping-border-violence-by-le galizing-drugs/ [27] http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2009/03/is-it-time-to-legalize-illegal-drug s/ [28] http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/24/miron.legalization.drugs/index.h tml [8] http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002661006_sunstamper04.html [9] http://www.alternet.org/drugs/60959/ [10] http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/time-to-legalize-drugs/ [11] http://newamericamedia.org/2011/04/ex-president-fox-calls-on-mexico-to-lega lize-drugs.php [12] http://articles.cnn.com/2009-03-24/politics/miron.legalization.drugs_1_proh ibition-drug-traffickers-violence?_s=PM:POLITICS [13] http://www.newsmax.com/DougWead/legalize-drugs-ron-paul/2011/07/29/id/40526 6 [3] http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/misc/roe1.htm [4] http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_3_59/ai_65348069/ [5] http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/editorialpost/drugslegal1.html [6] http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/civilization/cc0333.htm [7] http://stupac2.blogspot.com/2006/08/7-reasons-to-legalize-drugs.html [15] http://www.gargaro.com/drugs.html [16] http://debates.juggle.com/should-governments-legalize-all-drugs [17] http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/15/opinion/la-ed-summit-20120415 [18] http://brie-hoffman.hubpages.com/hub/Legalize-Drugs-and-Save-the-Economy