DRUGS AND THE LAW: A PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF DRUG PROHIBITION

• NCJ Number: 147437
• Author(s): R J MacCoun
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 16 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Rand Corporation; Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from Psychological Bulletin, V 113, N 3 (1993), P 497-512

Annotation

This article explores the potential behavioral effects of decriminalization and legalization of drugs.

Abstract

There is an ongoing American policy debate about the appropriate legal status for psychoactive drugs. Prohibition, decriminalization, and legalization are all premised on assumptions about the behavioral effects of drug laws. This article reviews what is actually known and not known about these effects. Rational-choice models of legal compliance suggest that criminalization reduces use through restricted drug availability, increased drug prices, and the deterrent effect of the risk of punishment. Research on these effects illustrates the need for a more realistic perspective that acknowledges the limitations of human rationality and the importance of moral reasoning and informal social control factors. There are at least seven different mechanisms by which the law influences drug use, some of which are unintended and counterproductive. This is the framework used to explore the potential behavioral effects of decriminalization and legalization. Footnotes, figures, references