Decriminalization is the reduction in severity of a criminal offense and the penalty associated with that offense. Legalization, on the other hand, is removing or repealing statutory proscriptions entirely. The consequences of the current extremist "war on drugs" campaign against youth and drug use include frequent violations of children's rights, exaggerating information about the dangers of drugs that often contradicts youths' actual experiences, and the profit-motive that brings lower-class youth into the realm of drug dealing and crime. One major reason for advocating decriminalization is that it has the potential to save billions of dollars through cutting criminal justice costs and generating huge revenues through governmental taxation of those drugs decriminalized. Also, it would diminish the illicit drug market and reduce crime. However, the costs of decriminalization could include increased drug usage, more crime, moral deterioration, and the message that drug usage is endorsed by the government. 71 references, 1 table.