Illicit drugs are, on the whole, far less dangerous than the legal drugs that many more people consume. Smoking will kill one in three smokers eventually. None of the illegal drugs is as lethal as tobacco or alcohol. If anyone has ever died as a direct result of marijuana, no one seems to be able to document it. Most deaths from hard drugs are the result of adulteration or unregulated concentrations.
Many people can be addicted to heroin for most of their lives without serious health consequences.
It has no known side effects other than constipation. Most cocaine users do not become dependent, and most who do eventually free themselves. Crack is terribly addictive, but its use is a direct consequence of the expense of powdered cocaine, and its spread is in part a function of its lower price. We must be honest about these facts, because much of the hysteria about illegal drugs has been based on misinformation. All addiction is a serious matter, and Quakers are right to be most concerned about the human costs.