Atheists: Your views on drug prohibition?

[DanDare]

That is the sort of information I have been after for ages. Good find.

[Nicko]

Attempting to prevent drug abuse through prohibition is an essentially flawed strategy. It attempts to reduce the problem of certain substances being taken to excess by targeting the supply. It seems to me that the only thing that will reduce the incidence of drug abuse is the targeting of demand.

No industry in history has ever disappeared due to lack of supply of a certain good. We have ample cases available, however, of industries going bust due to lack of demand.

As William S. Burroughs once observed:

"The addict in the street who must have junk to live is the one irreplaceable factor in the junk equation. When there are no more addicts to buy junk there will be no junk traffic. As long as junk need exists, someone will service it.”

[Medeyer]

Originally Posted by Nicko

Attempting to prevent drug abuse through prohibition is an essentially flawed strategy. It attempts to reduce the problem of certain substances being taken to excess by targeting the supply. It seems to me that the only thing that will reduce the incidence of drug abuse is the targeting of demand.

I would say that prohibition laws are in place more to prevent first time usage rather than deprive addicts of their supply.