Drugs

A history of inconsistencies.

In this episode, Laurance begins by noting that there are several areas of dispute surrounding the nature and use of drugs – both legal and illegal – some of which are factual (empirical) and others more conceptual or moral. A clue to his approach concerning drugs is noting that the most widely cultivated drugs are alcohol and cannabis, where, by and large, the former is legal and the latter not. The legal/illegal distinction does not adequately reflect the degree of harm caused by certain drugs, and many so-called prescription drugs can be extremely harmful. It turns out that this distinction has more to do with history and politics than with an objective appraisal of harm.

The so-called “War on Drugs”, a term emanating from the USA in the 1970s, has always been more focused on policies relating to enforcement and punishment, than on the minimization of harm, even though there is little evidence that such policies have reduced either the supply of illicit drugs or the extent of the criminal networks which produce and market them.

Laurance suggests that perhaps the most fundamental flaw in the way governments and whole societies think about drugs, is the inconsistency between laws and attitudes to alcohol, vis-à-vis other drugs of dependence. Indeed, in countries like Australia, excessive drinking, while acknowledged to be harmful to many, is deeply embedded in the national culture. Laurance compares the situation regarding alcohol with that of cigarettes and other nicotine products. Currently, the latter remain legal (with certain restrictions about advertising, etc.), but are subject to increased excise taxes designed, presumably, to deter people from purchasing them. However, as the demand for cigarettes is on the rise again, many are turning to criminal cartels which sell them at a cheaper price and, moreover, do whatever they can to drive legitimate suppliers out of business.

Asking the question “What should be the primary concerns of government with respect to both legal and illegal drugs?”, Laurance looks first at the extremes of free-market libertarianism, and a paternalistic “nanny state” mentality, and then at the reasonable idea that harm minimization should be the major priority, whereby medical and health services play a larger role than the law. He returns to a familiar topic: the importance of engaging members of society, especially young people, in robust, informed dialogue over the issues of most concern regarding drugs, including the inconsistencies raised earlier. As always, the aim of such a dialogical process is to empower ordinary citizens to become powerful thinkers on matters of importance, so that they are best equipped to think and act as responsible agents in the world.

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