No, The Death Penalty Does Not Stop Drug Trafficking

The Trump administration is continuing to raise eyebrows with its not-so-new approaches to longstanding problems. The most recent was the opioid epidemic, by introducing the death penalty to drug dealers. All though having the death penalty for drug dealers may seem like a new tactic, but its the same old pattern since the beginning of the drug war. You know when the policies don't work you just "make them tougher". One may think of some good reasons why the death penalty won't be effective, I mean drug dealers are already willing to kill each other. President Trump is citing the supposed successes of China and Singapore as justification for resorting to the death penalty. In a speech given in Pennsylvania, Trump said:

The only way to solve the drug problem is through toughness. When you catch a drug dealer you gotta put him away for a long time. When I was in China and other places, by the way, I said, Mr. President, do you have a drug problem? “No, no, no, we do not.” I said, Huh. Big country, 1.4 billion people, right. Not much of a drug problem. I said what do you attribute that to? “Well, the death penalty.”

Despite what other countries leaders may say, the drug use is not much different in china and Singapore than it is here. As of 2015, only 10.1% of the US population age 12 or older used any illicit drugs, including marijuana. According to China’s own National Narcotics Control Commission, their population of drug users is estimated to be at least 14 million, which is also about 10% of the population, and the population of users is steadily rising. In 1973 Singapore enacted the Misuse of Drugs Act which calls for a mandatory death penalty on drug dealers. So Singapore has the highest rate of execution than any other country, In the 1990s, Singapore executed nearly 14 people per million. With such harsh laws you would have to assume drug use is on the decline right? None of this should be surprising, economically. When there is a demand there are usually people willing to supply that demand. Tougher drug policies do have an effect, it makes getting in the drug industry just a little more riskier, but the more risk the more reward. This may push prices up, but it can also make the drugs more potent. The policies the Trump administration is touting are contradictory to their stated goal. The focus is not just on opioids, but on fentanyl-laced opioids, as fentanyl increases the potency and deadliness of the drug. fentanyl’s has been introduced because of the stricter drug laws increasing the cost of drug imports, its most certainly not from a lack of toughness. If these policies are put in place, the opioid epidemic will surely worsen. If the White House really wants to solve the opioid epidemic, the best thing they can do is to repeal the criminalization of heroin and other illicit substances. the decriminalization of drugs would remove the economic incentives to produce fentanyl-laced heroin and other increasingly dangerous substances. Its simple if we want to live in a free society you have to allow other people to do things that you may not do, I may not watch T.V that does not mean I should be able to say T.V is bad for your eyes so anyone selling T.V's will get arrested... Well thanks for reading guys please upvote, follow, and resteem!