So long as large sums of money are involved - and they are bound to be if drugs are illegal - it is literally impossible to stop the traffic, or even to make a serious reduction in its scope.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Friedman suggests that high profits from illegal drugs make prohibition ineffective against the drug trade.
- In plain terms
- Illegal drugs make so much money that stopping them is nearly impossible.
- What can you take from it?
- Prohibition fails when profits are high enough to fund the trade.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does prohibition reduce drug use?
- What is the cost of prohibition?
Another view
Prohibition may reduce overall consumption despite not stopping the trade.
More from Milton Friedman
It is because it's prohibited. See, if you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel.…
Permalink to quote #51 There is no logical basis for the prohibition of marijuana. $7.7 billion is a lot of money, but that is one of the lesser evils. Our failure to successfully en…
Permalink to quote #53 I'm in favor of legalizing drugs. According to my values system, if people want to kill themselves, they have every right to do so. Most of the harm that comes…
Permalink to quote #50
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