Abstract
In this paper I describe the nature of my interest in drug policy; discuss questions about whether and why drugs pose a public health problem; present some empirical results that bear on whether drug proscriptions might be justified because of their causal role in contributing to crime; hazard a few observations about how a society should deal with drug problems; and comment on the recent opiate epidemic plaguing much of the United States. My overall conclusion is that a good rationale for drug prohibitions has yet to be found, and the liberal alternative to criminalization, which recommends that drug use be treated as a public health problem, is problematic as well---even though it certainly would be an improvement on the status quo.
Highlights
Drug policy is an enormous inter-disciplinary puzzle, and philosophy is only a tiny part of a piece. In much of this discussion I will draw from criminology in particular, because I have always believed it to be especially salient in the drug decriminalization debate
Every and I learn something new philosophically as opposed to empirically, and I’ll mention one of these recent insights at the end of my presentation. After this little autobiography in part 1, I’ll talk in part 2 about drugs as a public health problem; mention in part 3 some empirical results that are germane to whether drug proscriptions can be justified because of their causal role in contributing to crime, hazard a few observations in part 4 about how a society should deal with drug problems, and say a few words in part 5 about the recent opiate overdose epidemic plaguing much of the United States
My overall conclusion is that a good rationale for drug prohibitions has yet to be found, and the liberal alternative to criminalization, which recommends that drug use be treated as a public health problem, is problematic as well---even though it certainly would be an improvement on the status quo
Summary
The various thoughts I express in this paper are divided into five parts. I begin with a few brief comments about myself. Most of my data comes from the United States---mostly from New York City, my current home---and I am unsure whether and to what extent the findings I’ll discuss can be generalized to other places in the United States, much less to Norway ---where rates of drug use and violence have always been lower. These data at least show us what is possible in the real world---a place where philosophers seldom tread. My overall conclusion is that a good rationale for drug prohibitions has yet to be found, and the liberal alternative to criminalization, which recommends that drug use be treated as a public health problem, is problematic as well---even though it certainly would be an improvement on the status quo
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