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Thinking Seriously About Alternatives to Drug Prohibition

NCJ Number
141415
Journal
Daedalus Volume: 121 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 85-132
Author(s)
E A Nadelmann
Date Published
1992
Length
48 pages
Annotation
This discussion of alternatives to drug prohibition in the U.S. focuses on the middle ground of the debate between legalization and prohibition, the availability of radical alternatives to current drug prohibition policies, the evidence that supports the idea of a radical decriminalization of drug prohibition, and the proposition of a drug regulatory model.
Abstract
This author conceptualizes the legalization position principally as a critique of current American drug prohibitionist policies; he holds that drug prohibition per se is responsible for many drug-related problems. A drug control strategy should seek to minimize both the negative consequences of drug use and the negative consequences of the policies themselves. There is common ground between reasonable persons arguing for legalization and for prohibition: a realization that the war on drugs represents a form of overkill, that more modest criminal justice measures can accomplish the same objectives more effectively, and that an adherence to public health objectives will result in better drug control policies. The two major differences between these camps lie in their assessments of individual rights and the vulnerability of the American population to increases in drug availability that would result from legalization. This article describes some of the alternatives along the drug policy spectrum. The author proposes a mail-order distribution system based on a right of access. The model is designed to eliminate the most negative effects of drug legalization and prohibition. 52 notes

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