Andrew Wagoner
Econ 202
Case Study 2
Drug usage is a very controversial issue in society today. While some drugs are legal, others are
illegal. Most people would agree that society should reduce or eliminate the use of illegal drugs.
However how should we spend the resources allocated in achieving this goal? Some people would argue
that we spend the resources to increase the number of patrols keeping the drugs out of our country.
While increasing patrols would decrease the number of drugs available, that wouldn’t decrease the
demand for these drugs. With decrease in supply of these drugs, yet no change in demand, the price
these users would have to pay would increase. In this case the demand is inelastic. Since these drugs are
addictive, users would more likely engage in illegal activities to obtain the funds needed to support their
habit.
