Yeah but when people self-medicate for "medical" reasons they're using drugs to escape rather than take responsibility for their problems. And that can lead to problems that can affect other people negatively, which is irresponsible.
For example, a woman lives in a place where abortion is illegal and there is no access to contraceptives. She has sex, which is normal, and she becomes pregnant. She is not ready to have a baby, but it is illegal for her to abort it. So she drops out of school and throws her life away. She becomes very depressed and starts drinking during pregnancy to escape her sorrow. Her child is born with birth defects as a consequence.
This woman had a psychological disease, depression, and therefore she was incapable of taking responsibility for her life. The alcohol addiction made her situation worse. The mother causing her baby to have birth defects is a negligent action that causes suffering. The consequence is morally wrong, the child did not choose to have birth defects and yet he must live with the complications for his entire life. However the mother was incapable of taking responsibility for her life, so *she* is not wrong, she couldn't control herself. Its just a sad situation.
However, we can't prohibit drugs/alcohol to try to prevent these things from happening because we already tried that during alcohol prohibition in the 30s and it didn't work. Similarly, the drug war is a complete failure. How many times have you heard: "man, if heroin was legal, I would shoot it up." People use it if they want to, whether its legal or illegal. The drug war just fills up the prisons and makes violent people rich.
Not only does prohibition fail in practice, but it isn't morally right. It sets a dangerous precedent- the government telling people what they can and can't do with their bodies. People deserve to choose how they want to feel. Many people without psychological diseases can use drugs/alcohol without throwing away their responsibilities by getting super fucked up or becoming addicted.
However, its still wrong to tell even the people that want to get super fucked up every once in a while a party- or every day- what they can and can't do with their bodies. Yes, getting super fucked up once- or getting fucked up all the time- is not making a rational decision, because the individual isn't taking care of themselves nor their responsibilities. But its still a bad idea to let the government make that decision for them. If the state wants to help with the problem, then he best idea is to provide addiction clinics and psychiatric hospitals that accept all addicts and people with psychological disease, no matter what. Even if they have drugs in their veins or in their pockets.
Point is, drug/alcohol addiction and abuse is a huge problem. You can't just pretend that drug addicts and abusers don't affect anyone when they get fucked up. When they neglect their responsibilities, they hurt other people. However, its a bad idea to try and *make* people stay away from drugs/alcohol. Its wrong and it doesn't work. The only solution that does work is providing a way out for addicts who have hit rock bottom. And have sensible laws, like the ones they have for alcohol. DUIs should be illegal. Giving drugs to a child should be illegal. Possession should not.
Drugs, Alcohol, and Morals
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Yeah but when people self-medicate for "medical" reasons they're using drugs to escape rather than take responsibility for their problems. And that can lead to problems that can affect other people negatively, which is irresponsible.
For example, a woman lives in a place where abortion is illegal and there is no access to contraceptives. She has sex, which is normal, and she becomes pregnant. She is not ready to have a baby, but it is illegal for her to abort it. So she drops out of school and throws her life away. She becomes very depressed and starts drinking during pregnancy to escape her sorrow. Her child is born with birth defects as a consequence.
This woman had a psychological disease, depression, and therefore she was incapable of taking responsibility for her life. The alcohol addiction made her situation worse. The mother causing her baby to have birth defects is a negligent action that causes suffering. The consequence is morally wrong, the child did not choose to have birth defects and yet he must live with the complications for his entire life. However the mother was incapable of taking responsibility for her life, so *she* is not wrong, she couldn't control herself. Its just a sad situation.
However, we can't prohibit drugs/alcohol to try to prevent these things from happening because we already tried that during alcohol prohibition in the 30s and it didn't work. Similarly, the drug war is a complete failure. How many times have you heard: "man, if heroin was legal, I would shoot it up." People use it if they want to, whether its legal or illegal. The drug war just fills up the prisons and makes violent people rich.
Not only does prohibition fail in practice, but it isn't morally right. It sets a dangerous precedent- the government telling people what they can and can't do with their bodies. People deserve to choose how they want to feel. Many people without psychological diseases can use drugs/alcohol without throwing away their responsibilities by getting super fucked up or becoming addicted.
However, its still wrong to tell even the people that want to get super fucked up every once in a while a party- or every day- what they can and can't do with their bodies. Yes, getting super fucked up once- or getting fucked up all the time- is not making a rational decision, because the individual isn't taking care of themselves nor their responsibilities. But its still a bad idea to let the government make that decision for them. If the state wants to help with the problem, then he best idea is to provide addiction clinics and psychiatric hospitals that accept all addicts and people with psychological disease, no matter what. Even if they have drugs in their veins or in their pockets.
Point is, drug/alcohol addiction and abuse is a huge problem. You can't just pretend that drug addicts and abusers don't affect anyone when they get fucked up. When they neglect their responsibilities, they hurt other people. However, its a bad idea to try and *make* people stay away from drugs/alcohol. Its wrong and it doesn't work. The only solution that does work is providing a way out for addicts who have hit rock bottom. And have sensible laws, like the ones they have for alcohol. DUIs should be illegal. Giving drugs to a child should be illegal. Possession should not.