The research and theoretical literature on drug use uses four discourses that focus on pathology, profit, the government's legislative role, and pleasure. Most of the recent writing focuses on the first three topics, while the issue of pleasure has received only limited attention. The War on Drugs is based mainly on the pathology and profit discourses. It overlooks the reality that the use of intoxicants is a normal feature of human life in all cultures and also occurs in other species. In Western cultures, drug use may occur either to escape from unpleasant reality or as part of leisure. The demand for drugs exists in modern society. However, neither prohibition nor complete legalization are appropriate solutions. Instead, policies are needed that are based on the principles of normalizing the user rather than the use and building on the resources of civil society. Notes and 66 references