Clouded Motives and Pharmacological Calvinism: How Recreational Use of a Drug Affects Moral Judgments of Its Medical Use

Abstract

While many drugs are used exclusively for medical reasons, and others are used solely for recreation, some drugs are commonly used for both purposes. For example, cannabis, opioids, benzodiazepines, and stimulants are unique in many ways, but they share the fact that they are regularly consumed both medicinally and recreationally. However, it is not clear how the existence of recreational markets for substances affects moral judgments of their medical use. The current work shows that using a drug for medical reasons is viewed as less morally acceptable if other consumers use the same drug for recreation. This effect emerges because observers infer that medical users are less purely motivated by medical need. Accordingly, the negative effect of recreational drug use on moral judgments of its medical use is mitigated when patients do not have alternative treatment options. These findings have implications for patient stigmatization, drug marketing and lobbying, and policy and legislation designed to regulate the use of medical drugs with recreational benefits.