Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Legal Framework of the Abuse of Illicit Drugs

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Economics of Addictive Behaviours Volume III

  • 553 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter provides a detailed analysis of the legal framework of the abuse of illicit drugs and begins with a description of present drug policies and proceeds with a discussion on the drug policies on prohibition and zero-tolerance. Economic, legal, medical, and psychological reasons are provided against prohibition and other drug policies. Various alternative policies regarding the use of illicit drugs are then discussed, including policies of prohibition, criminalization, decriminalization, depenalization, and their effectiveness which is followed up with a detailed discussion on the legalization of drugs. The chapter concludes with a discussion on a regulated market for drugs. It is argued that most drugs could be sold on a regulated market for drugs in much the same way as any other drugs, such as alcohol and nicotine.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Australian Government Publishing Service. (1985). Statistics on drug abuse in Australia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barro, R. J. (1997). Getting it right: Markets and choices in a free society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G., Murphy, K. M., & Grossman, M. (2006). The market for illegal goods: The case of drugs. Journal of Political Economy, 114, 38–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benson, B., Iljoong, K., et al. (1992). Is property crime caused by drug use of drug enforcement policy? Applied Economics, 24, 679–692.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block, W. (1993). Drug prohibition: A legal and economic analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 12, 689–700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boaz, D. (1991, February). The failure of prohibition. Economic Affairs, 12–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boettke, P. J., Coyne, C. J., & Hall, A. R. (2013). Keep off the grass: The economics of prohibition and U.S. Drug Policy. Oregon Law Review, 91, 1069–1095.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carney, T. (1987). Drug users and the law in Australia. Melbourne: Law Book Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caulkins, J. P. (1993). Zero-tolerance policies: Do they inhibit or stimulate illicit drug consumption? Management Science, 39(4), 457–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caulkins, J. P., & Reuter, P. (2006). Illicit drug markets and economic irregularities. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 40(1), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caulkins, J. P., Kilmer, B., et al. (2011). Design considerations for legalizing cannabis: Lessons inspired by analysis of California’s Proposition 19. Addiction, 107(5), 865–871.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaloupka, F., & Laixuthai, A. (1997). Do youths substitute alcohol and marijuana? Some Econometric Evidence. Eastern Economic Journal, 23(3), 253–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, H., & Byford, M. (2009). Addictive drug use management policies in a long-run economic model. Australian Economic Papers, 48(2), 151–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clements, K. W., Lan, Y., & Zhao, X. (2010). The demand for marijuana, tobacco and alcohol: Inter-commodity interactions with uncertainty. Empirical Economics, 39(1), 203–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, D. J., & Lapsley, H. M. (2008). The costs of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use to Australian society in 2004/05. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, P. J., & Reuter, P. (2007). When is alcohol just another drug. Some thoughts on research and policy. Addiction, 102(8), 1183–1188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Nardo, J., & Lemieux, T. (2001). Alcohol, marijuana, and American youth: The unintended consequences of government regulation. Journal of Health Economics, 20(6), 991–1010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donohue III, J. J., Ewing, B., & Peloquin, D. (2011). Rethinking America’s illegal drug policy. In P. J. Cook, J. Ludwig, & J. McCrary (Eds.), Controlling crime: Strategies and Ttradeoffs. National Bureau of Economic Research, University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, J. L. (1972, November). The demand for cigarettes: Advertising, the health scare, and the cigarette advertising ban. Review of Economics and Statistics, 54, 401–411.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, D. R. (1991). A human economists’ case for drug legalization. University of California Davis Law Review, 24(3), 655–676.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Harm Reduction Association. (2008). Global state of harm reduction. Available at http://www.ihra.net/GlobalState.

  • Jaffe, J. H. (2005). Learning from uncommon events: Comment on Degenhardt et al. 2005. Addiction, 100(7), 921–932.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C. M., & Meier, K. J. (1990). The wages of sin: Taxing America’s legal vices. Western Political Quarterly, 43(3), 577–595.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korf, D. C. (2002). Dutch coffee shops and trends in cannabis use. Addictive Behaviors, 27(6), 851–866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leader-Elliott, I. D. (1986). Prohibitions against heroin use: Can they be justified? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 19, 225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacCoun, R. J., & Reuter, P. (2001). Drug war heresies. Learning from other vices, times and places. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marks, J. (1993). The paradox of prohibition. In C. Brewer (Ed.), Treatment options in addiction: Medical management of alcohol and opiate use. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, Gaskell Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miron, J. A., & Zwiebel, J. (1995). The economic case against drug prohibition. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9(4), 175–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishan, E. J. (2001, March). The staggering costs of drug criminalisation. Economic Affairs, 21(1), 37–42. Institute of Economic Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nadelmann, E. A. (1988). The case for legalisation. The Public Interest, 92, 3–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nisbet, C. T., & Vakil, F. (1972). Some estimates of price and expenditure elasticities of demand for marijuana among U.C.L.A. student. Review of Economics and Statistics, 54, 473–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nutt, D., King, L. A., et al. (2007). Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse. Lancet, 369(9566), 1047–1053.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orford, J. (2001). Excessive appetites: A psychological view of addictions. Chichester, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacula, R. L., & MacCoun, R. et al. (2004). What does it mean to decriminalize marijuana? A cross-national empirical examination. Center for the Study of law and society, Jurisprudence and social policy program. University College Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacula, R. L., & Sevigny, E. L. (2014). Marijuana liberalizations policies: Why we can’t learn much from policy still in motions. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 33(1), 212–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pudney, S. (2010, January). Drugs policy: What should we do about cannabis? (pp. 167–211) Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex. Economic Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resignato, A. J. (2000). Violent crime: A function of drug use or drug enforcement? Applied Economics, 32, 681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbard, M. N. (1978). For a new liberty: The libertarian manifeto. New York: Libertarian Review Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saffer, H., & Chaloupka, F. (1999). State drug control and illicit drug participation. National Bureau of economic research (Working Paper No. w7114). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, L., Klein, B, & Murphy, K. M. (1981, December) Governmental regulation of cigarette health information. Journal of Law and Economics, 24, 575–612.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, R. (1994). Winning the war on drugs: To legalise or not? (Hobart Paper 124). Institute of Economic Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Economist. (2009). Treating, not punishing. The Economist, London, 8, 27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trebach, A. (1978). The potential impact of legal heroin in America. In A. Trebach (Ed.), Drugs, crime and politics. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2005). World drug report. New York: United Nations Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2013). World drug report. New York: United Nations Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Ours, J. C., & Williams, C. (2007). Cannabis prices and dynamics of cannabis use. Journal of Health Economics, 26, 578–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waller, L., & Williams, C. R. (1993). Criminal law: Text and cases (7th ed.). Melbourne: LexisNexis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weatherburn, D., Jones, C., Freeman, K., et al. (2003). Supply control and harm reduction: Lessons from Australian heroin drought. Addiction, 98, 83–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    John Joshua

Authors
  1. John Joshua
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Joshua .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Joshua, J. (2017). The Legal Framework of the Abuse of Illicit Drugs. In: The Economics of Addictive Behaviours Volume III. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59138-4_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59138-4_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59137-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59138-4

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation