The pusher wants his buyers to believe that his product will change their lives, that it is every bit as potent as the anti-drug hysteria has led his potential customers to believe. Ultimately, a gram of cocaine is neither more nor less potent than a fifth of gin. Both will, for better or worse, leave most of those who indulge in them substantially unchanged. Both will put a destructive grip on some of those who come within their reach. Making cocaine addicts into criminals is every bit as absurd a public policy as making alcoholics into criminals.
People use mind-altering substances for many reasons, good and bad.
Paul Campos is a professor of law at the University of Colorado. Comment by clicking here.