Police Executive Research Forum believes decriminalization would result in new and more damaging problems. Legalization would expose greater numbers of people to drugs and send mixed messages to the Nation's children about the desirability of drug use. While legalization might result in law enforcement savings, the costs to society in terms of lost productivity and caring for addicts and those that depend upon them would be far greater. There also is no sound evidence indicating that legalization would reduce the number of addicts or the number of crimes they commit: police experience suggests lower prices do not result in a reduction of drug-related crimes, and greater purity and availability means more people may gain access to drugs and become dependent upon them. While legalization may reduce the profits of drug trafficking, it would only shift the profit and make marginal improvements in control. Further, a black market would continue to exist for highly dangerous drugs that would not be legalized. The experiences following the lifting of prohibition and in countries where heroin is available, suggest that increased availability equates with increased addiction and greater problems.