A statute creating a status crime targets ordinary people. That is its purpose. If illicit drug users acted in ways that distinguished them from nonusers, a status crime statute would be unnecessary. The hate propaganda we examined in the previous chapter not only serves to identify victims. Its defamations promote public loathing of victims, nurturing an atmosphere where acts of ostracism become natural.
Ostracism seeks to prevent the targeted group from surviving in normal society.
Ostracism can come from private individuals, such as employers who fire competent drug users. Ostracism can also come from government, through means such as laws directing physicians to violate professional confidentiality by reporting patients' illicit drug use to state authorities. Restricting access to employment and health care are just two of many ways to impede survival. This chapter details the many ways in which drug warriors seek to deprive drug users of their legal rights. By losing the possibility of employment, drug users must resort to welfare or crime.