Many drug policy experts on both sides of the debate see the priorities exactly reversed and want to plan first and then repeal. However, action is needed now due to the unacceptable damage being caused by the war on drugs to American society, together with the quite tolerable threat that would be posed by legalized threat. Although drug abuse will always be a threat, a calm assessment of history demonstrates that we can live better with the threat posed by the availability of legalized drugs than with many other threats to health and the social order. During the period before March 1, 1915, the only time that legalization was virtually complete, the society and the great majority of the people withstood the allure of easily available drugs. With some modern adaptations, we should return to the people the freedom of choice regarding drugs that was unwisely taken from them at the turn of the century. The major goals of the new laws would be to eliminate the crucial Federal laws imposing criminal penalties on the manufacture, sale, and possession of drugs; the dismantling of the Drug Enforcement Administration and assignment of its staff and functions to the FBI or other Federal agencies; and the establishment of a new supportive role for the Federal government, recognizing the primacy of the States in drug control. Under the new system, even the lowest street addicts would be considered basically rational people who have to make choices about their options. Recommendations for specific options