DRUG WAR CAUSES MORE CRIME

Drug war increases crime. This is the hypothesis of Bruce Benson, professor
of economics at Florida State University, who spoke to students about the
drug war Wednesday in Knauss Hall. Benson provided data which pointed to
the emphasis on the war on drugs program during Reagan's administration in
the 1980s as the leading cause in a substantial increase in non-drug
related crime. His lecture was founded on the economic principles of
scarcity and competition for allocation of resources and focused on the
'80s -- the time when he said the drug war was born.

Benson hypothesizes that tough drug enforcement laws are pulling police
resources away from other types of crime and in effect have increased crime
rates in other areas, particularly in the area of property crime such as
burglary.

"At least 50 percent of property crime increase was due to a shift out of
property crime control to drug control," Benson said.

Former President Reagan made the war on drugs a priority in 1982, but
Benson's data shows arrests did not rocket upward until 1984. State and
local law enforcement did not have incentive to re-allocate their resources
to fight a war on drugs until a new law provided a solution in 1984.

"The crime bill contained one section that mandated any assets seized in a
drug investigation could be shared amongst federal, state and local law
agencies," Benson said. "Police have strong incentive now to fight the war."

Benson provided data illustrating the monumental increase in the ratio
between drug arrests and other arrests between the years of 1984-1989 since
the federal mandate took effect. According to Benson, there was one drug
arrest for every 25 non-drug arrests between 1945-1965. In contrast,
between 1985-1989 the ratio increased to one drug arrest for every 2.2
non-drug arrests.

"There was an 875 percent increase in drug arrests between 1984 and 1989,"
Benson said. "The drug war has had a dramatic impact on the criminal
justice system and the prisons were not equipped to handle it".

The data revealed that more drug-related arrests occur in states with laws
allowing the police to keep assets in drug seizures, highlighting one of
the most controversial and scandalous aspects of the war on drugs. Benson
shared stories of racial profiling and unnecessary search and seizure
taking place because of the federal mandate.

"Some argue that drugs cause crime; our evidence suggests that drug
enforcement increases crime," Benson said. "If the federal government would
get out of the marijuana game and leave it to state and local government,
that would be a step in the right direction."