Drug by Drug

Autor: Drug Policy Alliance Network

Fragmento del original: Different drugs produce different effects and pose different risks. The legal status of any given drug is not necessarily a reliable indicator of its potential for harm. Whereas marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, alcohol poisoning kills more people every year than all illegal drugs combined. Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D. has described tobacco as more addictive than heroin. Anti-social behavior is oftentimes associated with illegal drugs, when drug prohibition plays a critical role in exacerbating problem behavior. During a 1988 government hearing Dr. Koop testified that "[i]f tobacco suddenly were unavailable and was as expensive as heroin and cocaine, I think that you would find that the behavior of some tobacco addicts would be very much like the behavior of some addicts of heroin and cocaine."

Because different drugs pose different risks, different responses are required. Harm reduction measures like methadone maintenance are proven health interventions for problem heroin users. However, such therapies have limited application for other drugs. Likewise, there is a strong case to be made for taxing and regulating the sale of marijuana, but the arguments that support such a shift, namely the need to separate the hard and soft drug markets, don’t lend themselves to drugs like cocaine. Regardless of the legal status of any given drug, harm reduction is the appropriate response.

Para leer el documento completo presione aquí