If you’re anything like me, you find yourself struggling to justify old yet juvenile libertarian opinions once held but now condemned. A classic example of one such foolish opinion would be the libertarian idea that you should be allowed to consume whatever drugs you so please because muh freedumb.
Responsible Consumption
Firstly, let us discuss what I am going to call “responsible consumption.” By this, I mean a substance that can be consumed, in moderation, without radically altering one’s life. Alcohol and tobacco, though certainly good for no one, don’t necessarily ruin entire lives like methamphetamine. It is entirely possible for a person to have the occaisonal drink or cigar without becoming dependent on either, and without seriously affecting others.
That being said, this is certainly no justification for the habitual drinker and smoker. Those that imbibe daily do harm to themselves, their wallets, those around them, and society at large by being a passive consumer of poisons. Being able to limit one’s drink or smoke to Saturday, or maybe just a few times out of the year/month, is what I would call responsible. Being consumed either by addiction or poor habit is not responsible for any substance or unsavoury habit.
Now, while I have been speaking of legal drugs so far, I have done so to illustrate why hard drugs should remain illegal. The fact of the matter is that there is no responsible consumption of hard drugs. One cannot lead a normal life of caring for family, friends, and others while also consuming cocaine. The cravings for such drugs are powerful enough to overcome one’s normal responsibilities which makes getting one’s next hit more urgent than raising one’s own children. The effects that these drugs have overwhelm the great gift of human reason which leads us into acting like animals and ultimately into sin.
“My Body, My Choice!”
Despite the above reasoning, some would still argue the above heading. I doubt many people who are craving drugs, or were once addicted to drugs, would call drug consumption freedom; and the notion, which I may explore in the future about choosing an earthly master, which is what this is, it painfully asinine. Truly, it must feel like being compelled, which is quite the opposite of freedom. Consumption seems like less and less of a choice when the “monkey on your back” starts pawing harder and harder.
“Good People Won’t Consume Them Anyway”
Here’s more foolish reasoning. Firstly, there are children who simply do not know any better and it is therefore better for drugs to be unavailable. Secondly, there are adults who simply do not know any better and it is therefore better for drugs to be unavailable. See the pattern of ignorance? It isn’t necessarily bad people that consume drugs, but it is those who do not know any better, and who do not understand that their lives and those around them can be inadvertantly ruined.
“Well, I still don’t think the State should make them illegal.”
If you understand the Platonic reasoning behind why the State does, and should, exist, then it should be obvious why hard drugs are illegal. There is no justice of any kind in any facet of drug use or distribution. It is one of those issues where literally nothing good can come of it, much like pornography (which, for the betterment of society, would be better off illegal as well).
Between not being able to consume responsibly, having one’s freedoms taken away by addiction to such substances, and blissful ignorance of consequences, it should be quite clear that there is no good reason why hard drugs should be legal. They can only hurt and enslave consumers, their families, and everyone around them.
Conclusions
For the last stubborn “liberal"tarian (I know, boomerism, but an accurate one) reading this, ask yourself about how the drug users in your life are doing. To think that these substances should be legal is only possible in a fantasy land of the human mind where you can responsibly consume drugs and live a normal productive life. If you have seen the reality, or even know of it second or third hand, you know that the consumers of these substances are doing quite poorly.
In order to build a strong and free society, we must build strong and free families because that is the smallest unit of society. Drugs are one of the many antagonists to family life that even normies realize. Like basically every libertarian opinion, don’t fall for it; it is slavery masquerading as freedom.
Addendum
One last libertarian/anarchist screech that comes to mind is this: “Well, the State does such a poor job protecting us from drugs anyway, they may as well be legal.” There is some truth that: the State doesn’t do a great job at it, but let us approach the absurdity of that fact: “Well, the State does such a poor job protecting us from murder anyway, it may as well be legal.” We live in a fallen world, and the State, when not completely degenerate, is the closest thing we get to justice (boy, what a sad case). To expect it to solve all problems like God is plain ridiculous; regardless of whether or not it can prevent murder, murderers, when caught, ought to be charged. The same with drugs. At least it can provide an unsavoury consequence for transgressors of the law.
One more short point that was not written but has hopefully been made clear through the main reasoning is that drugs are not a “victimless” crime. The victims are the users suffering from the effects and addiction, their families that suffer due to their suffering, and society at large that loses what could have been a productive human being both materially and spiritually.