Drug warriors often contend that drug use would skyrocket if we were to legalize or decriminalize drugs in the United States. Fortunately, we have a ... a medical doctor added. "This development can not only be attributed to decriminalisation but to a confluence of treatment and risk reduction policies. read more
So, whilst cannabis legalization doesn’t necessarily cause a decrease in alcohol usage (though the jury’s still out on this one, and the evidence is promising that it does to some extent), it doesn’t mean it can’t be used as a substitute for alcohol should a person have a willingness to do so. read more
Yet as was the case during Prohibition, all the arrests and incarcerations haven’t stopped the use and abuse of drugs, or the drug trade, or the crime associated with black-market transactions. Cocaine and heroin supplies are up; the more our Customs agents interdict, the more smugglers import. read more
Several states have made the drug legal in some form for over a decade — whether via medical marijuana or, more recently, the outright legalization of the drug — and the data generated from these state-level experiments suggests that the easier it is to acquire marijuana, the less opioid abuse there is. read more