CMV: Shutting down dark web black markets is a waste of taxpayer dollars and does nothing to put a dent in the drug trade. The only way is through decriminalization and shifting funding to rehabilitation.
The only way to stop the illegal drug trade is to move to decriminalization of the most popular substances and move much of the funding to offer robust rehabilitation services. Arresting dark web marketplace owners and sellers is a huge waste of taxpayer resources. You can lock 100 of them up in a month. The trade won’t stop because the people keep buying.
As long as there’s a demand, someone will supply it. And someone will middle man it. You shut one down, they’ll just flock over to the next one. People will continue to seek out drugs for escape, pain, pleasure, or addiction. No amount of interdiction will erase that human behavior.
As long as substances are illegal, those who supply them are rewarded with higher prices due to the risk. This fuels violence, corruption, and exploitation.
Countries like Portugal that decriminalized personal use and reinvested in treatment saw Fewer overdoses, Lower HIV transmission rates, Reduced drug-related incarceration, and No significant increase in drug use.
This is my first CMV so im not sure if im allowed to post sources. For the Portugal stats,
Posted Aug 7, 2025, 12:45 AM UTC