Americans are crazy about three things—drugs, sex, and money (in order of increasing mania). Just saying drugs will get people excited and flood their imagination with all sorts of childhood propaganda and Lifetime TV drama. Before we begin, it’s a good idea to show how drugs actually compare in terms of harm (to self and others).

Here is the histogram (taken from The Economist) from the famous 2010 study of drug harms in the UK:

Notice that the most harmful are the most legal, while the least harmful are the most illegal. Obviously, harm cannot be the basis for criminalizing non-harmful drugs. If anyone knows the actual reason, please post your thesis in the comments below.