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Commentary:
Reconsideration of Contemporary U.S. Drug Policy
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Paul L. Solano*
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*Ph.D., Health
Services Policy Research Group, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy,
Graham Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
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*Correspondence to: Paul L. Solano, Health Services Policy Research
Group, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, Graham Hall, University of
Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Tel.: + 1-302-831 0589
Fax: + 1-302-831 0889
E-mail: Solano@udel.edu
Source of Funding: None declared
| In their recent book Drug War Heresies: Learning
From Other Vices, Times, and Places (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2001), MacCoun and Reuter challenge the continuation of contemporary
U.S. drug policy. Depenalization and legalization of illicit drugs
are evaluated as alternatives to U.S. prohibition policy, with harm
reduction (mitigation of social damages) as the criterion for guiding
drug regime change. The appraisal encompasses an analysis of underlying
philosophical and social mechanisms of current U.S. policy as well
as drawing analogies from a comprehensive review of American vices
and also Western European governmental interventions into illicit
drug activities. What is apparent is that the evaluation and the available
evidence entail substantial complexity and do not readily present
unequivocal positions. The evaluation also strongly indicates that
considerable difficulty would be encountered not only for the implementation
of alternative regimes but also for the engagement in open political
discussion of prohibition alternatives. |
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Received 7 January 2003; accepted 8 February 2003
Copyright © 2002 ICMPE
