debate

“If we legalize drugs, society will collapse. Addiction will explode. Crime will skyrocket. We’ll have chaos.” That’s the prohibitionist greatest hit. It gets trotted out every time someone suggests treating drug use as a health and human rights issue instead of a criminal one. There’s just one problem: reality disagrees. When you actually look at…

“If we legalize drugs, everyone will get addicted and society will collapse.” That’s the go-to prohibitionist argument, usually delivered with a mix of moral panic and zero citations. It’s been used for over a century to justify criminalizing people, militarizing police, and pouring billions into a “war on drugs” that can’t even win a skirmish…

“If we legalize drugs, society will collapse. Addiction will skyrocket. Crime will explode. Kids will start shooting heroin in homeroom.” That’s the prohibitionist fantasy in a nutshell: the idea that any move toward decriminalization or legalization is a one-way ticket to chaos. It’s been repeated for decades — by politicians, police unions, certain media outlets,…

“If we legalize drugs, society will collapse. Addiction will skyrocket. Crime will explode.” That’s the stock prohibitionist script. You’ve heard it from politicians, police unions, and every “won’t somebody think of the children?” pundit who’s never opened a public health study in their life. Here’s the problem: almost none of that fearmongering survives contact with…

“If we legalize drugs, addiction will skyrocket, society will collapse, and our streets will be flooded with zombies.” That’s the prohibitionist greatest hit. You’ve heard it from politicians, police unions, pundits, and the same think-tanks that never met a carceral policy they didn’t love. The story is simple and emotionally loaded: drugs are so dangerous…