ABSTRACT
In 1970 a terrible policy was adopted by the USA, one that would prove to have a dramatic impact on social and familial attachment. It was called the “War on Drugs”. Equally dramatic has been the impact of black incarceration rates on American democracy. Many state laws decree that no one convicted of a felony can vote. Jailing always brings family dislocation but in the USA it often entails vast geographical dislocation. Resistance to drug-law reform is fuelled, first and foremost, by the profits generated by the war on drugs. The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the Prohibition law. In the Netherlands, drugs have been virtually legal since 1976. The police there simply look the other way unless user or seller is fighting or causing some other kind of trouble. A legalization and regulation programme would eliminate the constant worry and chaos of the user’s life by instituting free maintenance dose distribution.
