Proponents argued punitive drug sanctions deter offending and raise drug prices.

Evidence

Proponents of more punitive drug sanctions espoused the belief that harsher drug sanctions were the key to controlling drug use and drug-related crimes. According to this line of thought, vigorous drug enforcement would reduce drug-related problems generally by serving as a deterrent toward drug offending. In addition, vigorous drug enforcement would raise the price of drugs, which in turn would reduce the demand for drugs and thereby reduce drugrelated problems (ONDCP, 1989; MacCoun & Reuter, 2001). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1073

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Drug enforcement can be engineered through price rather than prohibition — Michel Foucault, The Birth of Biopolitics: Lectures at…, 1351