The Myth Busting Economist by Larry Malone

Legalization of All Drugs Worth Considering

Welcome to the launch of my occasional column, “The Myth Busting Economist.” I’ll be using this space to discuss economic issues that affect our daily lives while debunking misleading statements and claims. My approach will appeal to facts, conventional wisdom and economic reasoning.

But first, a little background. I taught economics at Hartwick College for many years and recently retired. My greatest joys were introducing thousands of students to economics, where I drew inspiration from my graduate school mentor, Dr. Robert Heilbroner. During his lifetime, Heilbroner wrote dozens of books that made economics more accessible, including his classic, “The Worldly Philosophers.” I had the honor of co-editing a Norton anthology with him titled “The Essential Adam Smith.” Heilbroner’s greatest lesson was that ideas are worthless if they are not understood.

I promise to communicate economics in a clear fashion. I will also strive to stay apolitical, which was the standard I held myself to as a college professor for 37 years. That’s consistent with my being an active voter and a registered Independent. I find it amusing that the New York State Board of Elections characterizes the 23 percent of us who are registered Independents as “Blanks.” We’re treated as if we don’t exist, but we outnumber registered Republicans and we are the voters who decide elections! How, otherwise, would Obama defeat McCain in 2008 by six percent in Otsego County and Trump beat Clinton by 11 percent in 2016? Political Independents and independent thinkers matter!

In terms of the politics of my economics, many of my views would not be embraced by either of our two dominant political parties because they run the gamut from Socialist to Libertarian. I share an especially controversial view with most economists with PhDs: an overwhelming majority of us would advocate for the legalization of ALL drugs, including heroin and fentanyl. Let’s explore my (our) reasons to get a better sense of what to expect from me in future columns.

We start by asking a simple question: “If fentanyl was legalized tomorrow, would you start purchasing and abusing fentanyl?” Probably not, right? The same would hold true for heroin and cocaine. Additionally, if you never regularly smoked pot for years, are you making regular trips to DOSHA in Oneonta to replenish your stash? Probably not. That’s why the early evidence from states where pot has been legalized suggests there has been no meaningful change in the numbers of us who choose to imbibe on a regular basis. And that’s why your answers to these questions lead me to conclude that there would be no appreciable increase in usage if all drugs were legally available for purchase.

So why bother to legalize all drugs? Because of some huge new benefits that could be enjoyed by all of us. Just as we’re seeing with marijuana, governments would regulate production, distribution and quality. This would reduce the risk of consuming contaminated or adulterated substances, and put an end to the ways fentanyl has turned up in other drugs and proved fatal to some of our local residents.

Bringing meth and Oxy use into the open would also help us to provide more proactive treatment to those who struggle with addiction. We would also expect positive change and considerable savings in our criminal justice system. Legalization would snuff out the funding that lubricates the gears of organized crime and reduce violence. It would be safer to travel to Mexico.
Incarceration rates and the costs of jails and prisons would plummet, and savings would accrue from closing facilities and reducing the corrections labor force.

The workloads of our courts would be greatly reduced, although that means the unemployment rate for attorneys would rise while the need for more attorneys would decrease. Legalization would also reduce the risk of harm to those among us who serve and make the daily sacrifices needed to maintain law and order. We could even use legalization to impose new sin taxes on drugs—like those on cigarettes and alcohol—which would generate revenue to reduce taxes or boost the growth of other areas of the economy.

Are you getting a sense of what to expect from “The Myth Busting Economist?” My aim is not to incite or inflame, but to generate some different thinking about how we can address our challenges. That’s why next time I’ll be turning our attention to one of the bigger issues we’re facing as a nation.

Larry Malone is professor emeritus of economics at Hartwick College.