Prohibition Makes Drugs MORE Dangerous 

* Deprives user of ready knowledge of dose and purity. 

* Makes drugs more available to the most critical populations, the young and the heavy users. 

* Promotes feelings of stress and isolation that lead to heavier drug use. 

* Places the drug supply under the control of dealers who profit from heavy use rather than health care professionals who can help the user control intake. 

* Diverts resources from treatment and prevention. This is particularly important because current mental health care is so closely linked to addiction and is so inadequately funded. 

* As practiced today, prohibition employs scare tactics and exaggerations that undermine the credibility of authorities and of drug education. 

* On the whole, the long term effects of a felony conviction and prison sentences do more damage to the user and to society than the drug itself. 

See: Prisons do not deter 

* Prohibition means suppliers will produce drugs in their most concentrated forms in order to aid smuggling and enhance profits. This has been called The Iron Law of Prohibition and is directly opposed to the trend with legal drugs, which is to gradually replace the most potent drugs with ever milder variations.