Prohibition of drugs leaves the supply of drugs to some of the worst people in society. There is a demand for drugs, under prohibition this is met by unregulated, uncontrollable criminals. So instead of being supplied by legitimate, tax paying companies drugs are supplied by some of the worst people in society. The profits go straight into funding foreign civil wars, buying guns that threaten our streets and funding extravagant lifestyles for criminal bosses.

Instead of this we could have legitimate, tax paying, law abiding companies in control of the supply of drugs. This would be far better for the economy than leaving it to gangsters.

A tiny minority of cigarettes and alcohol are bought on the black market. And when cigarettes are brought into this country, its usually by someone returning from a foreign trip to a country where the tax on cigarettes is lower. The tax has still been paid, just in a different country and at a lower rate. The proceeds going to legitimate sources, just in another country. The cigarettes people are buying are not homemade cigarettes but cigarettes made by international companies. That is totally different to what happens when it comes to illegal drugs.

Existing suppliers of drugs could never hope to compete with legitimate companies. I would never buy a bottle of vodka made by some man i met on the street because i can go into a shop and buy a bottle of vodka from a producer i trust. People currently don't have that option with illegal drugs, under a legalized system they would have that option and would take it.

Crime would decrease because we could liberate police officers from spending time fighting an unwinnable 'war on drugs' and refocus them on real crime like murder, rape, theft etc.