Analysis Of Why Punish Drug Users At All? By Douglas Husak

The “war on drugs” in America has been a popular and controversial political topic of conversation since 1971 when President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse as an imminent threat to public health. President Ronald Reagan reinvigorated the topic in 1986 when he insisted there was a drug crisis in America; as a result, the number of people brought up on drug charges multiplied by ten during that time. However, in recent years the idea of drug decriminalization has gained ground. In the article, “Why Punish Drug Users at All?” Philosophy professor Douglas Husak suggests this may be necessary from a moral perspective, positing that punishing people as a means to condition them against an action violates their freedom of choice. With this
Drugs could only potentially harm the user, and even then, Husak references studies which state that Americans who use drugs have nearly the same health and life expectancy as those who do not. He also notes that punishment does not do much as a deterrent, because most drug users do not believe they will be caught, and in most case, are correct. This means that punishing people to deter the usage of drugs does not really benefit anyone. In fact, punishment for using drugs is often worse than any possible harm using drugs could cause. Husak states that criminal law and punishment should not be used in order to promote healthy and productive life. Although using recreational drugs is not considered healthy, each individual person should have the freedom to make that decision to use if they want. This certainly matches with the free-market libertarians view on decriminalization of
We are free agents after all, and we should be allowed to do as we please, so long as our actions do not cause harm to others. After all, we are not punished by the government for overeating, nicotine dependency, or alcoholism. I also believe that punishment should not be given out purely because we want someone to stop doing something. We are not animals to be trained, we are humans who are allowed to choose what we want to do with our life and threating prison time for drug usage is no different than keeping a dog outside because it jumped on the couch. Along with that, threatening punishment is not going to completely stop people from using drugs, just like threatening punishment has not stopped underage drinking. However, I would not consider myself a free-market libertarian, because I do believe the government should have the right to step in during certain cases. I do believe the state should have the right to control legalized drugs because it is certainly safer for users and sellers. Also, in cases when a drug user causes harm to another person while under the influence, the police should take the user into custody, or in cases when a user begins to abuse a substance, the police should be able to step in, but they should treat it as a medical matter. Out of Erich Goode’s positions, I would consider myself a progressive advocate of