As a drug user of some 17 years, I say YES, legalization will end the violence.
Here are three reasons why.
Use vs. abuse
Drug use is what is currently thought of when you look at the legal drugs-alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. While these drugs are certainly abused by many in our society, they are commonly considered drugs that can be used without abuse symptoms (craving, withdrawal, lifestyle change). The non-legal drugs (cannabis, cocaine, LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, heroin, prescription drugs used illegally, etc.) are currently thought of as drugs of abuse. From personal experience, both types of drugs have the potential for abuse (as we well know), but both can also be used without abuse symptoms.
Abuse is, in my opinion, a psychological problem. Those who abuse one particular substance are likely to abuse others. If the abuse/addiction patterns can be addressed, through therapy or other means, then the individual may be able to break the cycle of abuse/addiction and be able to lead a normal life free from abuse.
By legalizing drugs, a way becomes possible to monitor drug use/abuse patterns and treat potential abusers before they damage theirs and others lives. Each drug user gets a prescription for the drug(s) they choose to use. When the supply runs out, they have to return to refill the prescription. As all prescriptions are held in a common data store, when a user begins to request refills above a given rate, a flag is raised to have the user be recommended for treatment. This could be hardened to require the user to undergo treatment before further refills are sold.
Comparing some use patterns of users vs. abusers may serve to illustrate why legalization may reduce the numbers of abusers (and thereby violence). The classic “signs of an alcoholic” may be relevant to other drug use as well, and enable us to see indications of abuse (the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) is definitive in this regard.) A user will use a given drug from rarely to often, but not consistently at elevated levels. For example, a user may smoke cannabis regularly on Friday and Saturday nights, occasionally on weeknights, rarely or not at all on weekdays. An abuser may smoke cannabis every day, upon waking, at lunch, after work, alone, all the time. A user will consider his/her use to enhance enjoyment of life, whereas an abuser will consider their use to be how they get through life. If a user runs out of the drug, they will not panic over whether and when the next purchase will take place. An abuser will panic, and become desperate for the next purchase immediately. This leads to irrational behavior, such as stealing or killing for money for the purchase. This is how the cycle of abuser violence starts. By reducing abusers, abuser violence is reduced.
Legal vs. illegal
Having drugs be legal versus illegal also has an important effect on drug-related violence.
Illegal drugs means criminal activity. As the suppliers and distributors of illegal drugs are criminals, they will disregard law. This makes violence possible. As they have no legal means of recourse against those with whom they dispute, they use whatever means are available to them to resolve the dispute. This usually means violence. As the legal barrel of a gun is unavailable, they use the literal barrel of a gun.
By removing the criminality of the substances, the suppliers and distributors of illegal drugs become irrelevant. Normal business supply and distribution networks, standards and practices (and regulation) become the norm. As legal businesses, the suppliers and distributors have recourse to the law, and legal means to resolve disputes. Thus the literal barrel of a gun becomes irrelevant, replaced by the legal barrel of a gun.
Benefits unrelated to violence
Drug legalization also provides several other benefits.
Legalization improves control over quality of illegal drugs. By having the FDA regulate drug quality, “bad” drugs and drugs of varying potency are less frequent. This provides a more stable drug experience, reducing overdoses and unexpected side effects from adulterants.
Legalization provides tax revenue. By taxing drug sales, the government receives direct revenue that can be used to fund drug treatment and reduce the deficit.
A Final Word
As a longtime drug user (and sometimes abuser), I applaud anyone who chooses to stay drug free. But I also feel that any adult that chooses to use drugs should be able to. I do feel that treatment for addiction is critical, as is changing the home and societal causes of addiction. More importantly, I DO NOT condone drug use of any kind for children. The laws enforcing this should be extremely strong-none of the nicotine mamby-pamby lax enforcement-our children are our future-we have a responsibility to the future to see that they grow up right.