Drug policy myth-busting

"Although some drug reform advocates talk about prisons overflowing with otherwise innocent first-time drug users, that is a myth; over 90 percent of those in prison for drug-law violations admit involvement in drug distribution, albeit often in very minor roles," according to the non-partisan RAND Drug Policy Research Center in their recently released paper: The U.S. Drug Policy Landscape - Insights and Opportunities for Improving the View.

While the paper highlights problems associated with supply reduction activities, the authors highlight one positive outcome:  ". . . supply control is not futile" because enforcing drug laws imposes costs on the drug supply network, and "those costs are presumably passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices.  Contrary to a once-prevalent myth, higher prices really do reduce drug use and initiation, and they also encourage cessation."