Reading this thread (and the post above) made me think of a potential way for a society to handle recreational drugs. Have them be legal, but make them weak, diluted. A 3.5% limit on alcohol content. Nicotine pouches with barely any nicotine and an unpleasant taste. Weak weed with a foul smell. You can buy any substance you want, but the more addictive it is, the more cumbersome the acquisition and administration. I won’t claim to be at all sure about how well this would actually work. Also, a government wanting to use this idea to tackle drug abuse starting today might need to do some weird stuff during a transitional period. Already established illicit production and distribution would have to get dismantled for this to work since I’d bet a nontrivial number of people would still seek the cheaper stronger illegal versions if they remained available.
Reading this thread (and the post above) made me think of a potential way for a society to handle recreational drugs. Have them be legal, but make them weak, diluted. A 3.5% limit on alcohol content. Nicotine pouches with barely any nicotine and an unpleasant taste. Weak weed with a foul smell. You can buy any substance you want, but the more addictive it is, the more cumbersome the acquisition and administration. I won’t claim to be at all sure about how well this would actually work. Also, a government wanting to use this idea to tackle drug abuse starting today might need to do some weird stuff during a transitional period. Already established illicit production and distribution would have to get dismantled for this to work since I’d bet a nontrivial number of people would still seek the cheaper stronger illegal versions if they remained available.