The drug policy debate generally focuses on the law's ability to reduce personal narcotics use. We debate back and forth how many people would use drugs if we legalized them, and how many potential drug users our laws have prevented. What gets lost in this shuffle of speculation, however, are the collateral consequences of our drug laws.  If we are to have a meaningful discussion about drug policy, these consequences should be considered and then balanced against any benefits we may gain from our current regime.

First, our drug laws undermine our right to be free from incarceration.  Millions of people are incarcerated every year for drug crimes -- stripped from their families and thrown into a prison system that often physically and psychologically breaks them.  The land of the free has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and it is largely because of our drug laws.

Second, our laws have a disproportionate impact on minorities and the poor.  Drug enforcement officers patrol poor minority neighborhoods with greater intensity than suburban white areas. This is true even though whites use drugs at the same rate as minorities, as the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health confirms.  And because police focus their efforts on minority neighborhoods, minorities are arrested and incarcerated at a drastically disproportionate rate.  In fact, a 2002 Human Rights Watch report which analyzed the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reports revealed that more than 25.4 million people have been arrested on drug charges since 1980 and about 33% were African-American, even though African-Americans make up only about 13% of the population and 13% of drug users.

Third, our drug laws corrupt law enforcement and cause police to engage in intrusive conduct.  There is a reason why police resort to invasive searches, consent searches, and long roadside stops -they are looking for drugs.  And who can blame them, given that they are tasked with the difficult and frustrating job of combating pervasive conduct that is difficult to detect? The end result of all the searches, stops, and arrests is that the rights of the innocent are curtailed.  Indeed, one need only spend five minutes in a criminal procedure course to learn how much power we have extended to our police because of the "compelling government interest" in fighting the war on drugs.

Fourth, narcotics laws (and underage drinking laws) cause people to lose respect for the law.  Every day, young people throughout this country observe officers focusing tirelessly on finding and arresting drug users, often with intrusive and aggressive methods.  Thus, young people rightfully ask, why don't the police focus on the murderers, scam artists, and corruption?  Many also wind up in the legal system because of their possession of a small amount of drugs or marijuana, and they too end up questioning why police and our penal code focus on innocuous conduct.  The end result of this system is not simply hostility between communities and law enforcement; it is the development of disrespect for the law and those that enforce it.

Fifth, we spend billions of dollars every year enforcing drug laws and incarcerating people for breaking them.  This hurts everyone, from the poor person suffering from underfunded government aid programs, to the wealthy person who does not want his/her taxes raised.  We should start asking simple questions about our resources and our priorities.

Sixth, drug laws diminish our sense of community responsibility.  Years ago community members looked out for each other and neighbors would work together to solve community problems. People had a sense of responsibility for themselves and each other.  However, drug laws cede a portion of this responsibility to our government and police.  Instead of looking out for each other, we just call the cops and tell them to deal with it.  This cannot be good for society.

Finally, drug laws give gangs a lucrative product to sell, resulting in turf wars over market share. This destabilizes communities and often leads to the death of police and innocent people. This may be the price we are willing to pay - I don't know- but let's at least be honest about the cost of our laws.

So, let's stop focusing solely on whether someone was prevented from using pot because it was illegal, or whether or not heroin use would increase if we legalized it.  Instead, let's balance what we gain, against all that we lose. If our laws have resulted in reduced use; such reduction is almost certainly negligible (after all we have been fighting the War on Drugs for 40 years now).  Balance this slight gain against the liberty, community, and money that we lose, and the need for reform becomes obvious.  But, then again, I suspect that our devotion to our current system has much more to do with emotion than reason.