Despite serious medical concerns in the past, coffee has become a widely accepted drug because it is associated with the hard-working, ascetic, sober modern lifestyle. The prohibition of alcohol in the United States from 1919 to 1933 was also a reflection of an ideological conflict: It not only stigmatized a drug but the emerging working class Catholics and their way of life. Similarly, the crusade against cannabis in the 1960's was motivated less by medical concerns than by society's rejection of the youth culture and its protest against the established order. Last, the current debate over the legalization of such hard drugs as cocaine and heroin mirrors the ideological conflict between the liberal emphasis on individual rights and the paternalistic attitudes of socialists who believe in the government's obligation to protect the adult population. In its conclusion, the article sides with the liberal view of legalizing drugs because the resulting diversity in recreational drugs is more attuned to the emerging diverse, pluralistic, and decentralized world order. 14 references