More than 200 people have been killed in U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats since September 2025, and cocaine is still moving. Cato scholar Jeffrey Miron highlights in a new analysis that military force cannot repeal the laws of supply and demand. Destroy one shipment and prices rise; higher prices recruit new suppliers. The most resilient organizations are usually the most ruthless ones.
Miron’s piece tallies prohibition’s full costs, including elevated violence, eroded civil liberties, higher overdose rates from uncontrolled supply, and tens of billions in annual enforcement spending. He concludes that full drug legalization is the only policy consistent with both economic reality and individual liberty.
If you’d like to speak with Miron, please contact Cato PR at pr@cato.org.