There have been many trenchant critiques of drugs prohibition by policy analysts, economists, jurists, police chiefs and others. These critiques have had little impact despite the cogency of their arguments and the abundant evidence that drugs prohibition is a disastrous failure in its own terms. This book examines the peculiar imperviousness of prohibition to criticism and concludes that it is due mainly to two factors: its faith-based, emotionally appealing nature, which precludes serious consideration of alternatives, and its reliance on a number of superficially convincing but ultimately flawed and illusory philosophical defenses and empirical claims. This book dismantles the claims and defenses of prohibition, using the implementation of prohibition in Ireland over the last thirty years as a case study.In this period, the drugs problem has grown from a minor issue to one of the country’s most serious social problems. Irish policy, which at the level of political rhetoric adheres to an outright ‘war on drugs,’ has since 1996 invested hugely in harm reduction and social justice projects in an attempt to achieve a more balanced approach. Analyzing the empirical evidence on the effects of Irish drugs policy on crime, health, social and economic well-being and, crucially, on the prevalence of drug use, this book concludes that both the earlier, more rigid form of prohibition and the recent pragmatic compromise between prohibition and harm reduction have failed.The author argues that a radical new approach is required, based on accepting the right to use drugs so long as others’ rights are not infringed. This approach could have major benefits, avoiding the severe ill-effects of prohibition and creating a positive attitudinal dynamic that lowers the irresponsible and destructive use of drugs.
