Drugs & Harm
Philosophy Now|October/November 2020
Frederik Kaufman analyses the illegality of drugs.
Frederik Kaufman
Drugs & Harm

The state puts enormous resources into curbing the sale, distribution, and use of certain drugs. Why? The obvious answer is to protect citizens from harm: harm to self, and harm to others. Consider first harm to self. Illegal drug users often harm themselves, even though that’s rarely what they intend. They risk violence, unsafe conditions, overdoses, illness, adulterated drugs, arrest, long lifedestroying prison sentences, poverty, social censure, unemployment, and more. Illegal drug use also risks, and produces, harms to others: it supports gangs, gun use, graft, corruption, criminality – which all cause social instability. It imposes high costs on the health care system, diverts public dollars to prisons, therapy, clinics, law enforcement, with trial after trial overloading the judicial system, not to mention the broken relationships and attendant family problems. These are all significant social costs (although it also follows that a lot of decent jobs depend on illegal drug use). However, these risks and harms are mostly consequences of the drugs in question being illegal, so they cannot themselves be used as reasons for why drugs should be illegal. Therefore, when we ask whether the state should prohibit drugs because of risks of harm to self and others, we must focus carefully on the dangers posed by the drugs themselves, not on the dangers to self and others posed by the illegality of drug use.

Harms to Self

How inherently dangerous are illegal drugs to drug users themselves? Here we need some clinical facts.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October/November 2020-Ausgabe von Philosophy Now.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October/November 2020-Ausgabe von Philosophy Now.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS PHILOSOPHY NOWAlle anzeigen
Metaphors & Creativity
Philosophy Now

Metaphors & Creativity

Ignacio Gonzalez-Martinez has a flash of inspiration about the role metaphors play in creative thought.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Medieval Islam & the Nature of God
Philosophy Now

Medieval Islam & the Nature of God

Musa Mumtaz meditates on two maverick medieval Muslim metaphysicians.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Robert Stern
Philosophy Now

Robert Stern

talks with AmirAli Maleki about philosophy in general, and Kant and Hegel in particular.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Volney (1757-1820)
Philosophy Now

Volney (1757-1820)

John P. Irish travels the path of a revolutionary mind.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Philosophy Now

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Becky Lee Meadows considers questions of guilt, innocence, and despair in this classic Christmas movie.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
"I refute it thus"
Philosophy Now

"I refute it thus"

Raymond Tallis kicks immaterialism into touch.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Cave Girl Principles
Philosophy Now

Cave Girl Principles

Larry Chan takes us back to the dawn of thought.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
A God of Limited Power
Philosophy Now

A God of Limited Power

Philip Goff grasps hold of the problem of evil and comes up with a novel solution.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
A Critique of Pure Atheism
Philosophy Now

A Critique of Pure Atheism

Andrew Likoudis questions the basis of some popular atheist arguments.

time-read
10 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Exploring Atheism
Philosophy Now

Exploring Atheism

Amrit Pathak gives us a run-down of the foundations of modern atheism.

time-read
10 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025