J. Trent Mosby, Prisoner of the Drug War America does not have a drug problem. America has a drug prohibition problem. Historically, U.S. drug policies have conveniently ignored science in favor of politics and greed. Alcohol is a drug. Nicotine is a drug.
Pharmaceuticals are drugs.
The decision to use a drug in America is no longer based on the efficacy of the drug, but on its legal status. This is prohibition. Prohibition is a proven failure. We have a social policy based on lies. The federal government lied to our parents about drugs, they lied to us about drugs, they lied to our children about drugs, and now they expect us to lie to our grandchildren about drugs.