Does libertarian support of personal liberty extend to drug use?

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This article is from the Libertarian FAQ, by Joe Dehn jwd3@dehnbase.fidonet.org, Robert Bickford rab.AT.daft.com, Mike Huben mhuben@world.std.com and Advocates for Self-Government http://www.self-gov.org/ with numerous contributions by others.

56 Does libertarian support of personal liberty extend to drug use?

Alcohol prohibition tore America apart once. Now it is the war on
drugs. Harsh laws and the threat of jail and fines will not stop drug
use. All they do is make it harder to help people. And just as
Prohibition created organized crime, today's drug laws keep organized
crime alive -- with all the violence and corruption that goes along
with it.

Before drugs were illegal, Americans handled them with few problems.
Let's respect the right of people to control their own bodies.

Decriminalize drugs, help those who need it, and let the police spend
their time protecting us from real crime. [3]

[3] "The Liberator," Spring 1992, pp. 18-19, Advocates for Self-
Government, 3955 Pleasantdale Road, No. 106-A, Atlanta, GA 30340,
(800)932-1776.



7a. But if drugs were legalized, wouldn't there be millions more drug addicts?

I, too, want to live in a society where people are healthy and
productive, not destroying their lives with addictive drugs.

All of the hard drugs were legal before 1914, and there were few
addicts. Studies show that even addicts can be productive, and also
that they do not engage in crime when they can get their drugs
inexpensively.

We have addicts today despite drug criminalization. We also have the
violence that is caused by drugs being illegal. Let's decriminalize
drugs so we stop the violence and get help to those who need it. [3]

[3] "The Liberator," Spring 1992, pp. 18-19, Advocates for Self-
Government, 3955 Pleasantdale Road, No. 106-A, Atlanta, GA 30340,
(800)932-1776.