The iron law of prohibition is a term coined by Richard Cowan in 1986 which posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases. Cowan put it this way: "the harder the enforcement, the harder the drugs." This law is an application of the Alchian–Allen effect; Libertarian judge Jim Gray calls the law the "cardinal rule of prohibition", and notes that is a powerful argument for the legalization of drugs.
The iron law of prohibition is a term coined by Richard Cowan in 1986 which posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases. Cowan put it this way: "the harder the enforcement, the harder the drugs." This law is an application of the Alchian–Allen effect; Libertarian judge Jim Gray calls the law the "cardinal rule of prohibition", and notes that is a powerful argument for the legalization of drugs.
Source: Wikipedia "Iron law of prohibition" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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