The Disasters of War: American Repression versus Dutch Tolerance in Drug Policy

Abstract

This article discusses Dutch pragmatism with regard to drug policy, an approach that deviates sharply from the worldwide war on drugs most energetically promoted by the United States. The author focuses on the recent Dutch Memorandum on Drugs, a document that takes prevention and diminution of harm as the policy's central aims. The author analyzes both Dutch drug policy and the international drug war in terms of the harm principle developed by philosopher John Stuart Mill, concluding that the Dutch policy is preferable in that it produces fewer harms. It is argued that, in theory, decriminalization of drugs and the implementation of regulations comparable to those for alcohol should provide a better balance between freedom and harm reduction than the current war on drugs approach allows. In practice, however, the latter solution could only work within the context of a worldwide adoption of the liberal approach.