Douglas Husack provides a cogent analysis of the drug laws debate, focusing on the various reasons that prohibitionists posit for criminalising drug use, as well as the various disadvantages of prohibition. (1,992 words)
Should Recreational Drug Use Be Criminalised? (Part 2)
May 6, 2021
Continues to look at Douglas Husak’s arguments about prohibition and its consequences. (907 words)
The culture of addiction: Part 2
August 1, 2013
The second part of this series focuses on the impact of legal status on drug culture. Click here for part one.
Society makes judgements about different types of psychoactive drug. As Bill White points out in his book Pathways from the Culture of Addiction to the Culture of Recovery, the social status and value attached to a particular drug by society influence several things:
- The risks associated with use of the drug
- The organisation of ‘tribes’ within the culture of addiction
- The characteristics of each tribe and the impairments that members experience from both the drug and the culture itself.
Clearly, there are likely to be differences in a variety of factors for drugs that are legal (e.g. alcohol) and those that are prohibited by law (e.g. heroin).
