Since President Nixon declared the war on drugs over four decades ago, there have been plenty of skeptics who would have the government give up and decriminalize drugs

Question

Regardless of the many pros that legalization proponents assert, the battle continues. What would likely happen if there were an improved coordinated effort to fight the war against drugs that includes other powerful countries?

Answer 1

Efforts to reduce crime often meets with the same problem: All it does is move crime around, not prevent it. The theory of displacement sees crime as being shifted around in five
main ways:
1 . Crime is moved from one place to another (geographical).
2 . Crime is moved from one time to another (temporal).
3 . Crime is directed away from one target to another (target).
4 . One method of committing crime replaces another (tactical).
5 . One kind of crime is substituted for another (crime type).

In each case, the theory assumes that offenders are compelled to commit crime, whatever impediments they face. The basis for the assumption is either that the propensity to commit crime builds up and must be discharged in the same way that sexual release is sought, or that "professional" criminals or drug addicts must obtain a certain income from crime to maintain their lifestyles.

On the other hand, researchers looking for displacement have sometimes found precisely its reverse. Rather than finding that crime has been pushed to some other place or time, they have found that crime has been reduced more widely than expected, beyond the intended focus of the measures. It seems that potential offenders may be aware that new prevention measures have been introduced, but they are often unsure of their precise scope. They may believe the measures have been implemented more widely than they really have, and that the effort needed to commit crime, or the risks incurred, have been increased for a wider range of places, times, or targets than really is the case. This means that diffusion can take several forms, paralleling the different kinds of displacement.

The other logical result of a major enforcement effort would be a temporary decline in drug trafficking, but a bounce back by traffickers would be likely. Criminals are often highly motivated, especially drug users and pushers. They will likely find new ways to conduct business undetected.