The prohibition of illicit drugs is not a legitimate way towards winning the War on Drugs. Prohibition creates an ungovernable black market in which the quality of drugs is unprecedented. Drug dealers often dilute their products with cheaper substances for a higher margin of profits (Eldredge 22). The black market creates an underground scene in which illegal activities take place, like the speakeasies during the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s. “In New York City Alone, Prohibition did away with 15,000 saloons. They were replaced by 32,000 speakeasies” (Gottfried 49). A large amount of the crime and violence in America can also be attributed to the uncontrollable black market. If drugs were legal and therefore cheaper, addicts would not need to find violent means of stealing money (LeMoult and Haag 34). The large amount of money summoned by the desire for drugs by Americans has led to large profits for drug dealers. The profits, in turn, are forwarded to law-enforcement officials who allow for corruptive behavior. In New York City during the prohibition of alcohol, half the squad was fired due to corruption (Gottfried 49-50). When drug use in America was extremely high, the number of federal convictions rose. For example, “the disastrous drug decades of the 1970s and 1980s saw the number of federal convictions of public officials increase from 44 in 1970 to 1067 in 1988” (Eldredge 53). Prohibition is very costly. “Every elected official from President Reagan on down goes through the ritual of calling for stiffer enforcement of drug and trafficking laws” (LeMoult and Haag 32-33). These officials increase their budget on the War on Drugs for campaigning efforts. The proposed budget against the War on Drugs for 1999 contained $17 (Gottfried 13). The amount of funding for education and treatment has increased recently, however funding for law enforcement and incarceration is much higher. In the mid-1990s, only about 30 percent of federal funds were directed towards education and treatment (Eldredge 162).

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