Creating space for a more reasoned debate about drug policy

A prerequisite for a more reasoned debate is the demilitarization of the language of drug policy. Drug use is not an external enemy that poses a threat to the survival of the state and hence must be resisted by armed force. It is a pattern of behaviour engaged in by some citizens that poses a risk to their health, to public health and to public order. Under current drug laws, the State uses its coercive police powers to prevent all of its citizens from using some drugs. The restrictions on individual liberty that these laws entail are justified primarily as being for drug users’ own good, and secondarily to prevent the threat to public order posed by some drug users who engage in criminal behaviour to support their drug use