Still more clearly as a Roman,
Can I see the legion close,
As our third rank moved in forward
And the short sword found our foes.
—General George S. Patton, Jr. Through a Glass, Darkly (10/27/22)

The Times Leader recently reported several incidents involving drugs and prostitution in south Wilkes-Barre. There is a simple and effective way to deal with these problems. Give in. Legalize them, tax them, and regulate them.

Does giving in mean giving up? Niccolò Machiavelli wrote that you can win by doing voluntarily what the enemy is trying to force you to do. This allows you, and not the enemy, to control the situation. Machiavelli cited the Roman victory at Zama during the Punic Wars. The Carthaginians sent elephants against the Roman lines to disrupt them. The Carthaginian infantry expected to cut up the broken Roman formations.

The Roman general, Scipio Africanus, ordered his soldiers to give in. They opened their ranks and let the elephants through. The elephant charge did not break the Roman lines, because the Romans simply got out of the way. It did, however, separate the Carthaginian infantry from their war elephants. Scipio told his soldiers to close ranks and attack. Before the elephant crews could turn their mounts and return, the Romans were slaughtering their infantry. The technical term is "defeating the enemy in detail." Giving in clearly does not mean giving up.
 

The following table shows the economic costs of illegal drugs for 1990.

Cost $, Billions
Medical care 3.2
Lost productivity 8.0
Death 3.4
Crime 46.0
AIDS 6.3

Source: Institute for Health Policy, Brandeis University. Substance Abuse: The Nation's Number One Health Problem– Key Indicators for Policy. Prepared for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ, 1993.

Legalization would probably not affect the first three items. It is unlikely that legalization would encourage more people to start using drugs. Self-respect and common sense are the best, and most important, reason for not using them. AIDS might decrease, because addicts would have access to clean needles.
The greatest impact would be on crime. Repealing Prohibition put the bootleggers out of business. Our current system sends a few pushers and dealers to jail. Legalizing drugs will throw all of them out of work. Legalization will destroy most street gangs' reason for existence. Remember Scipio Africanus. Giving in does not mean giving up.

Federal and State governments would save money on enforcement costs. Prison space has become a pressing issue for many states. Decriminalization would open prison cells for violent offenders, and avoid prison construction costs.

The government itself could supply the drugs, at prices low enough to discourage competition from criminals. Taxes on the sales should go to antidrug education, and programs for getting off drugs. Is it hypocritical to supply drugs while trying to convince people not to use them? No, it recognizes that the people who want them are going to get them. The only choice is whether drug sales will enrich criminals or pay for antidrug programs.

Similarly, using the force of law to oppose prostitution is self-defeating. During the early part of the Second World War, the British allowed brothels to service British soldiers in Tripoli. The British required regular venereal disease checks for the prostitutes. The Chaplain-General discovered this, and closed the brothels. General Montgomery closed the ones in Cairo, and in northwest Europe after D-Day. This did not prevent soldiers from visiting prostitutes. It only prevented the Army from regulating them. This allowed VD to inflict more British and American casualties than the Axis did (Regan, Great Military Disasters, 108-110).

Legalization helps governments regulate the activity. Prostitution is legal in Nevada, but patrons must use condoms. The prostitutes must undergo regular testing for VD and AIDS. Under these conditions, who is going to patronize a street prostitute? Legalization would put the white slavers and pimps out of business. It would destroy their ability to control, exploit, and abuse women. There's a cheerful thought. I'm sure the Romans were very cheerful after Zama, too.