ABSTRACT
A broad consensus exists on all points along the political spectrum that western countries punish too many people with too much severity. This chapter examines how the phenomenon of addition might bear on questions about criminalization. It aims to impale those who believe that addiction provides a substantial reason for selective criminalization on the horns of the following dilemma. Inevitable imprecision notwithstanding, much can be said against the hypothesis that the phenomenon of addiction lends significant support to the case for selective drug criminalization. The supposition that criminal laws proscribing drug use are justifiable as a means to prevent persons from becoming addicts and diminishing their freedom construes these laws paternalistically—as designed to protect persons from harms they cause to themselves. The claim that addicts use drugs non-freely suggests that threats of punishment will do little to discourage them from persisting.
