Drugs

Abstract

An old adage claims that sometimes the cure is worse than the ailment. This appears to be the case in our insistence on the illegal status of certain varieties of drugs. We would never advocate the use of a cancer-causing medication to treat the flu. Yet, in an attempt to limit drug use, and thereby curtail addictions and other debilitations arising from drug use, we stand resolutely behind the refusal to tolerate the use or sale of illicit drugs. We take this position despite growing evidence that the illegal status of drugs creates incentives for, and profits to, enrich the growth and spread of crime and criminal organizations. The problem we must confront is whether we have created a serious international disease that is becoming larger and more powerful every day merely to treat the afflictions of a few.