Sex, Booze, & Drugs: Chapter 5

Rebecca Ehren, Gina Gordon, & Kasey Greer

Sex, Booze, & Drugs: An OverviewProstitution

Illegal everywhere in U.S. except certain Nevada countiesProhibition

Illegal 1920-1933; resulting from temperance movement“The War on Drugs”

Cocaine illegal 1914; increasingly strict laws to present

The Law Enforcement ApproachTarget sellers, not buyers

Each arrest has the potential to prevent multiple transactions

Possible risk raises opportunity costs for potential suppliers, which decreases supply and increases the price for buyers

Using law of demand, this increase in price should decrease the quantity demanded

Issues with This ApproachThe high opportunity costs for suppliers encourages them to

sell smaller quantities with greater potency to retain the same profitBooze

During Prohibition, speakeasies served more potent hard liquor, increasing alcohol poisoning deaths 30x the number of people died from acute alcohol poisoning during

Prohibition than do today Binge underage drinking

Drugs Suppliers sell more of the purer drugs due to increased value per unit $50,000: 1 pound pure heroin OR 100 pounds of marijuana

Regulation by law enforcement encourages suppliers to deal with their problems internally instead of turning to the public forumSex

Prostitutes in Nevada counties are regularly tested for AIDS and other venereal diseases Spread is nearly nonexistent versus Newark, NJ, where approximately 52%

of prostitutes have AIDSBooze & Drugs

Illegality draws criminals (who have a comparative advantage in illegal activities)

Suppliers must resort to violence to uphold their contracts and deal with disputes After Prohibition ended, murder rate in America drops sharply

Implications of Chosen ApproachIllegal markets are less safe for consumers and societyApproach has not succeeded in eliminating the

underground marketsPrices of cocaine and heroin are at record low levels,

encouraging more buyers instead of deterring themIs it time to rethink these policies?

Passage of the 21st Amendment