Why a Rational Approach to Drug Policy is Essential
The way illegal drugs are classified is arbitrary and unscientific. For far too long the harms have been extensively focused on, ignoring the potential benefits and disregarding the relative harm of legal drugs. Why does this harm scientific research so much? And what is the best course of action?
Let me begin with a seminal study that classified the harms of drugs in a rational, scientific manner. The graph above depicts the results. And yes it is no mistake — alcohol is the most harmful drug both to users and to others. Shocking, perhaps?
This is partly due to so many people using it, yes. But the impact alcohol has is widespread to society due to the way in which the drug effects our disinhibition.
This study used a multi-criteria decision analysis model or MCDA, where each drug was classified based on its harms to users and to others which resulted in 16 overall harms (you can see these harms in the image below).
You may have noticed that almost all the drugs below alcohol are illegal. So why is alcohol legal if it is more harmful than any illegal drug?
Well, the way illegal drugs are currently classified is not based on science. There is no link between drug harms and their classifications — which you may have extrapolated from the graph. This means current drug laws are not evidence-based, not based on reason or the scientific method — making them arguably immoral.
What this tells me is that governments should be more focused of the harms of legal and widely available drugs, i.e. alcohol, tobacco than those which are illegal and much less harmful, i.e. cannabis, LSD, ecstasy.
Now, what does this wrongful classification mean? What implications does it have on society?
It Harms Scientific Research
Although these laws are in place to stop recreational use, it halts scientific study greatly.
Illegal drugs are incredibly difficult to research as you would imagine, due to its legal status. Regardless of legality, it is important to understand these drugs better as currently there is still a lot we don’t know.
More importantly, many of these drugs have therapeutic potential. Cannabis has extensive therapeutic potential for multiple sclerosis and insomnia. MDMA has medical uses for PTSD. Psilocybin mushrooms can treat depression, and there is evidence for LSD treating alcoholism.
Yet, the current legal status makes these drugs virtually impossible to research. Not only is it immoral to ban these drugs due to the incorrect classification, it also disregards the potential for treatment.
In the midst of a mental health crisis and difficulties treating these conditions, there needs to be more research and understanding around the potential these illegal drugs have.
This isn’t to say these drugs are without harm. No, but — their legal status actually makes it pretty difficult to understand their potential harm too.
We need scientific research to better understand drugs as knowledge is crucial.
It Makes Drugs a Criminal Issue Rather Than a Health Issue
This irrational approach and the legality status of drugs continues to criminalise individuals with substance use disorders.
For too long we have seen drug use as a criminal justice issue (which is rather arbitrary given the classification of harms) when it should be seen as a health problem.
Now, tell me — how is punishing and criminalising behaviour of an addicted individual going to alleviate it? Answer — it’s not.
Making drugs illegal does not lessen the rates of abuse. It actually makes it worse.
Portugal decriminalised all drug use in 2001, everything from cannabis to cocaine. Why? They were facing some of the worst rates of addiction and drug-related pathology in Europe. Now drug use and death rates are among the lowest in Europe, decreasing dramatically as a result of decriminalisation.
The data speaks for itself with the decriminalisation being an absolute success in harm reduction. This success can be attributed to the Portuguese government offering treatment programs to citizens, demonstrating the country’s shift toward a health-focused approach to drugs.
Switzerland implemented heroin-assisted treatment in the 1990s as a means of tackling their opioid crisis. This has been largely successful in combatting the issue by seeing it as a health problem rather than a criminal one.
Since this treatment was implemented, Switzerland has seen a significant decrease in drug use, addiction and drug deaths. And importantly, it has reduced illicit drug activity and related crime by allowing addicted individuals to seek treatment rather than participate in the illicit market.
I hope I’ve shown you why a rational approach to drug policy is essential. This is necessary in order for scientific research to prosper around the therapeutic potential of some illegal drugs. It is also necessary in order to shift drug use to being seen as a health issue rather than a criminal one.
