T
he strict enforcement against users of drugs, as in the United States, has not reduced the use of drugs and, furthermore, it results in more serious crime being committed, such as users stealing and killing to pay for their habit and traffickers fighting and killing each other to protect their markets. As a result, in the United States $750 billion per year is spent on
enforcement of drug laws; $700 billion per year is spent by consumers of drugs; 400,000 police are used in attempting to enforce the law respecting drugs; 50 per cent of the persons in
...[+++]jail are there for drug violations; and 50 per cent of the court time is spent on hearing drug-related cases.