by TChris

Milton Friedman, an economist who is generally esteemed by conservatives, doesn't understand the economics underlying the war against pot.

Milton Friedman leads a list of more than 500 economists from around the U.S. who today will publicly endorse a Harvard University economist's report on the costs of marijuana prohibition and the potential revenue gains from the U.S. government instead legalizing it and taxing its sale. Ending prohibition enforcement would save $7.7 billion in combined state and federal spending, the report says, while taxation would yield up to $6.2 billion a year.

While Friedman's expertise is in economics, his arguments against using the criminal justice system to wage war on drug users go beyond the economic cost of the policy. Says Friedman:

"Our failure to successfully enforce these laws is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in Colombia. I haven't even included the harm to young people. It's absolutely disgraceful to think of picking up a 22-year-old for smoking pot. More disgraceful is the denial of marijuana for medical purposes."

The report, authored by Dr. Jeffrey Miron, is available here.