In Australia alone, we spend more than $1 billion per year on drug law enforcement.

Worldwide the figure comes to more than US$100 billion.

The secondary effects of the drug war are difficult to quantify in financial terms, but clearly, the staggering waste of human potential adds an even more significant burden. In purely economic terms, freeing up these resources would allow a greater focus on areas such as education and healthcare, which have proven benefits in mitigating the harms of drug use.