Taking Psychology with You

The Drug Debate

Because the consequences of drug abuse are so devastating to individuals and to society, people often have trouble thinking critically about drug laws and policies: Which drugs should be legal, which should be illegal, and which should be “decriminalized” (i.e., not made legal, but not used as a reason for arresting and jailing their users)? At one extreme, some people cannot accept evidence that their favorite drug—be it caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, or marijuana—might have harmful effects. At the other extreme, some cannot accept the evidence that their most hated drug—be it alcohol, morphine, marijuana, or the coca leaf—might not be dangerous in all forms or amounts and might even have some beneficial effects. Both sides often confuse potent drugs with others that have only subtle effects and confuse light or moderate use with heavy or excessive use.

After a drug is declared illegal, many people assume it is deadly, even though some legal drugs are more dangerous than illegal ones. Addiction to prescription painkillers and sedatives used for recreational rather than medical purposes has risen dramatically among teenagers and adults. Nicotine, which of course is legal, is as addictive as heroin and cocaine, which are illegal. No one has ever died from smoking marijuana, but tobacco use contributes to between 400,000 and 500,000 deaths in the United States every year, 24 times the number of deaths from all illegal forms of drug use combined, and worldwide it is the largest single cause of preventable deaths (WHO Report, 2011). Yet most people have a far more negative view of marijuana, heroin, and cocaine than of nicotine and prescription painkillers.

Emotions run especially high in debates over marijuana. Heavy use has some physical risks, just as heavy use of any drug does. However, a review of studies done between 1975 and 2003 failed to find any compelling evidence that marijuana causes chronic mental or behavioral problems in teenagers or young adults. The researchers observed that cause and effect could just as well work in the other direction; that is, people with problems could be more likely to abuse the drug (Macleod et al., 2004).

Because marijuana has medical benefits, Canada, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Israel, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, and Belgium have either decriminalized it or made it legally available for patients who demonstrate a medical need for it. In the United States, 23 states and the District of Columbia (as of 2015) have approved the medical use of marijuana, and residents of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington voted to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older. In other states, possession of any amount of pot remains illegal, and punishment for offenses range from a few years in prison to a felony conviction. In some states, a person who has been convicted of marijuana possession cannot later get food stamps or welfare, which even convicted rapists and murderers are entitled to.

At one end of the spectrum, many people remain committed to the eradication of all currently illegal drugs. At the other end, some people think that all recreational drugs should be legalized or decriminalized. In between lie a range of possible strategies. One is to develop programs to reduce or at least delay drug use by young teens because multiple drug use before age 15 increases the risk of drug dependence, criminal activity, and other problems in adulthood (Odgers et al., 2008). Another approach would legalize narcotics for people who are in chronic pain and marijuana for recreational and medicinal use, but would ban tobacco and most hard drugs. And in a third approach, instead of punishing or incarcerating people who use drugs, society would regulate where drugs are used (never at work or when driving, for example), provide treatment for addicts, and educate people about the benefits and hazards of particular drugs.

Where, given the research findings, do you stand on this debate? Which illegal psychoactive drugs, if any, do you think should be legalized? Can we create mental sets and environmental settings that promote safe recreational use of some drugs, minimize the likelihood of drug abuse, and permit the medicinal use of beneficial drugs? What do you think?