Collective Action and Individual Choice: Rethinking How We Regulate Narcotics and Antibiotics
J Med Ethics 2013;0:1–5. doi:10.1136/medethics-2012-101160
6 Pages Posted: 23 Feb 2013 Last revised: 8 Feb 2014
Date Written: February 21, 2013
Abstract
Governments across the globe have squandered resources and imprisoned millions of their own citizens by criminalising the use and sale of recreational drugs. But use of these drugs has remained relatively constant, and the primary victims are the users themselves. Meanwhile, antimicrobial drugs that once had the power to cure infections are losing their ability to do so, compromising the health of people around the world. The thesis of this essay is that policymakers should stop wasting resources trying to fight an unwinnable and morally dubious war against recreational drug users, and start shifting their attention to the serious threat posed by our collective misuse of antibiotics.
Keywords: recreational drugs, antibiotics, drug war, liberalism
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