Quintin van Kerken, from the NPO, says that the cost of arrest, imprisoning and the conviction of an average 2 000 suspects a year, amounts to R283 793 003.
This includes costs of overt R2-m for arresting 20 000 people (of whom only about nine per cent are convicted), and between R15-m and R20-m to investigate the cases.
Then there is still the cost of the trail.
The report also demonstrates that is costs around R10 000 a month to keep a drug-user in prison.
“It is clear the prohibitionist way of thinking South Africa currently holds, is simply not working.
“If it were, there would be no drugs on our streets, all the dealers would be in jail, and there would be no recreational users of drugs and no addicts,” he says.
He adds that enforcement-led policy offers stunningly poor value for money and it is hugely expensive and creates further costs to society.
Van Kerken says that arresting dealers and confiscating drugs simply funnels business elsewhere.
“It does not stop the supply of drugs; it simply slows the flow down. We have to realise that addiction is a health problem and that not all drug users are drug addicts.
“There are porn addicts, gambling addicts, prescription medication addicts, even food and alcohol addicts. The aforementioned addictions can be just as (if not more) detrimental to a family and addict,” he says.
He adds that more and more countries are legalising and regulating the (drug) industry, and by doing so, they are taking the control back from organised crime, and making tax money from the industry.
“An extremely valid argument is that drugs are dangerous and must be controlled.
“We fully agree that this is right, however, the drug war concept of ‘controlled drugs’ is an absurdity, because prohibition has abdicated all control of drugs to gangsters.”
He says that real control means taking the markets back from criminal networks and bringing them within the government sphere, where drug production; supply and use can be regulated.
“It is precisely because drugs are dangerous that they need to be regulated and controlled. Drugs are too dangerous to be left in the hands of criminals.
“What we are saying is that, let us look at the reality we find ourselves in, and realise that making laws harsher is simply not the answer. Let us be realistic and see that it would simply make no sense to legalise a drug like crystal meth, yet looking at regulating the cannabis (dagga) industry would make fiscal sense.”
He says that by applying fair trade practices, correctly regulating the industry, and applying the correct taxes, cannabis could become a major contributor to the economy.
“Will regulations mean that there will be no addicts or corruption in the industry? The simple answer is no, but it will mean that there is a chain of distribution and a framework to work within which is legal and ensures that those that need help can get it without fear of criminalisation, and that we can use that tax money to buy textbooks and stock hospitals with medicines.
“The reality is that we simply cannot ignore that regulating (or legalising or decriminalising) the drug industry is an avenue that we simply have to explore.”
