One of the arguments put forth by proponents of drug legalization is that, if taxed, drugs would provide enormous revenue to the state coffers. Purely from an economic point of view, this would make sense (which may be why so many economists tend to be pro-legalization, or at least decriminalization). From a political perspective, however, it can be suicide to state that drugs should be legal in the streets and towns where our children walk and play every day.
Some states have now tried to have the best of both worlds by requiring that drugs carry an “Unauthorized Substances Stamp”. Yes, the drugs are still illegal, but they require the stamp nonetheless. Admittedly, the lawmakers don’t expect people to apply the stamps to their drugs, but they do hope to be able to receive more in fines if they can claim another crime on top of illegal substances.
To us, this seems very much like double jeopardy since, in essence, drug users are being punished twice for the same crime. Since drug usage is illegal, they could just raise the fines for illegal substance use. Or, of course, they could try legalizing and control its use.
Via article in the Economist, available here.
