FROM CRIMINALIZATION TO REHABILITATION: Abandoning “The War on Drugs” THESIS EDIT | Page 21

systems in countries like the United States, save money on law enforcement (which could instead
be used to fund rehabilitation centers for recovering addicts), and reverse the negative side-
effects drugs have had on society.
However, since criminalization, drug use has remained steady, if not increased, crime
rates have gone up, and money that could be used for education and healthcare is being wasted
on law enforcement’s futile efforts and pointless incarcerations that do not lead to recovery.
So, even if one does not take into consideration that addicts are human beings deserving
of compassion and empathy, and we just look at them as a problem that needs to be solved,
criminalization of drug use is still a monumental failure. Moral foundation or not, our current
laws don’t even get the “job done,” so to speak.
Even in a “Mafioso” system of law, criminalization of drug use would fail. In a Mafioso
system, a person is given a choice that they “cannot practically [refuse],” (Feinberg, 2). For
example, a mafia leader may offer a person a choice to either do what is asked of him, or be
killed. Anyone who wishes to live will, as a result of this offer, will not reasonably be able to say
“no” to the mafia leader’s request.
Herein lies the problem with addiction: addicts don’t think reasonably. For example, an
addict with a gun in his mouth decides not to shoot himself, not because he values his life per se,
but because he loves taking drugs too much and do esn’t want to leave them behind. The disease
of addiction hijacks an addict’s sense of priority on a physiological level. Therefore, they are no
longer capable of making rational decisions. So, to an addict, there’s really no such thing as
an “offer they cannot practically refuse,” because “practicality” is not a characteristic they
inhabit.
My final, and perhaps most important point moving forward, on why the law of