From colonial times until 1914, Americans were the authors of their own drug policy; they decided what substances to avoid or use, controlled the drug-using behavior of their children, and assumed responsibility for their personal conduct. Since 1914 the control of and responsibility for drug use, by adults as well as children, has been gradually transferred from citizens to agents of the state, principally physicians. Physicians have "prescription privileges," a euphemism for what is, in effect, the power to issue patients ad hoc licenses to buy certain drugs. This makes doctors major players in the state apparatus that denies people their right to drugs, thereby denying them the option of responsible drug use and abdicating their own responsibilities to the government. So long as a majority of citizens do not believe in freedom of and responsibility for drug use, there can be no effective opposition to medical-statist drug controls. Although the current tide of public opinion precludes repeal of drug laws, the cause of repeal can be betrayed by supporting any law that gives physicians the power to control what drugs we use and under what circumstances.