FROM CRIMINALIZATION TO REHABILITATION: Abandoning “The War on Drugs” THESIS EDIT

FROM CRIMINALIZATION TO REHABILITATION:
Abandoning “The War on Drugs”
By
Ani Khodaverdian
2015
INTRODUCTION
On the most basic level, it is the plain purpose of the law to be effective in addressing the
issue it has aimed to solve. The nature and authority of the law in civilized society is to impose
obligation and consequence onto its citizenry, and as such, it is the moral and exact duty of the
law to be effective and pragmatic in its application. It is due time that we, as a global
community, take an honest look at our collective failure in addressing what has become known
as the number one disease of our civilization: addiction. We can no longer afford to look at drug
laws through the worn-out lens of idealism. Addiction is a real issue deserving of a real solution.
With this paper, I will be calling for radical change regarding current drug laws upheld in the
vast majority of jurisdictions around the world. It is time to abandon the failed attempt of
prohibition, and move from criminalization of drug use to decriminalization and rehabilitation. I
will focus my discussion from points I believe are fundamental to shaping and shifting this issue.
First, I will discuss the current situation we are in, highlighting the problem of addiction
as it is, and the detrimental effects of the laws currently in place. It is my belief that the core
reason we as a global collective have been unable to tackle the problem of addiction is that we do
not yet understand the nature of it. Therefore, I will discuss the true nature of addiction, as a
disease, in hopes of putting to rest the myths and misunderstandings surrounding the
phenomenon. This will be followed by an analysis of how the disease of addiction distorts the
mind and influences behavior, which will lead into a philosophical analysis of criminalization
and why it has failed as law. Finally, I will give a brief explanation of Portugal’s current drug