If drug-related laws, under which 1.3 million U.S. citizens are arrested each year, invade individuals' right of privacy and do not contribute to the maintenance of a liberal society, this author argues that they should be abandoned. John Stuart Mill's views opposing the prohibition of alcohol are used to explore the possibility of justifying laws against drug use even within its strictest purview. The analysis explores the ways in which drug use results in harm to others and touches on the ways in which a liberal society can make moral claims on what is, strictly speaking, private behavior. The essay also considers Burke's thesis that laws to curb passions might be necessary to civil society as part of an historical overview of the role that drug laws have played in contemporary drug policy. Finally, based on the writings of John Kaplan, the author discusses the question of whether drug laws have any important practical benefits and whether they can be enforced fairly in the context of the current criminal justice system. 55 references