From Harm to Psychoactivity

Prior to the 2016 Psychoactive Substances Act, the concept of harm ostensibly underpinned UK drug policy. However, this is neither an accurate description of the previous regulatory system nor a realistic aspiration, as the idea of a single objective concept of ‘harm’ is a chimera. Drug-related harm depends on personal and social contexts, could be to users themselves or those around them, and could occur immediately upon use or years later. This chapter therefore suggests that the Act offers an opportunity to reframe drug policy debates around the real underlying question: whether psychoactivity is undesirable and deserving of being illegal.