Although current U.S. drug policies are clearly ineffective and irrational, it is prudent to pursue a policy of gradual decriminalization rather than legalization. Gradual rather than radical change is the only prudent course, because the persistent and strident advocacy of the war on drugs is so embedded in America's social consciousness that it is unlikely that sufficient political force could be mobilized for drug legalization. Further, it is difficult to move to an efficient and humane system of controlling the consumption and distribution of drugs that are currently prohibited. Drugs differ from one another; situations in which they are consumed and distributed differ from one another; and users and distributors have a wide range of personal differences. There is no quick and obvious path to a working regulatory system backed by criminal law that aims to minimize the harm done by drugs. Drugs are dangerous, frequently misused attractions. Society must protect children from them in the most effective way possible. Children and adults must be persuaded of their danger, weaned from them, and treated for their misuse. Only when all else fails should punitive incarceration be used. One drug needs to be distinguished from another in its effects. Users and dealers must be distinguished from one another in the way they are managed. Reliance on deterrence through ever more punitive sentences and more intensive law enforcement measures as the centerpiece of drug policy is futile.