Should we legalise (part 1)... Recreational Drugs
Episode 30 of the Morality of Everyday Things is now live (and part 1 of our 'Should we legalize?' series)
Episode 30 is now live. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, Google Podcasts and more.
Milestone note from us: we’ve made it to 30 episodes and our audience keeps growing - thousands of you are now following the show, which is very cool. A big thanks to all our followers who have left us reviews on Apple, Google or Spotify’s new review tool (have you noticed that, it’s pretty cool?) If you haven’t yet, it only takes a few seconds from you, but means a lot to us and helps the show to keep growing.
Should we legalise (part 1)... Recreational Drugs
In this episode, we begin a series (of 3 episodes) exploring the intersection of morality and public policy; generally of the form 'should X be made legal?'. We'll be exploring both the ethical arguments and some of the high level data around key policy decisions surrounding commonly banned substances and activities. A core introductory theme (and one that's consistently touched on through the series) is when and how a governing power should behave independent of morality, i.e. with a greater focus and interest in outcomes and evidence, and when the banning or legalizing of substances are perhaps more important as value statements than as policy approaches whose outcomes we should study. Ultimately, this a spectrum and we will all have different views on this, even from issue to issue.
We begin by assessing the legality of recreational drugs (recreational vs performance enhancing or medical use cases). Recreational drugs are widely available legally, such as alcohol, but a large number of substances are actually prohibited (particularly many discovered/popularized within the last century or so). Why? If I can drink myself to death and our society can widely celebrate drinking culture, is it so bad if some people dabble in the use of other substances? Maybe some of these have a particular ability to cloud our judgement and limit our freedom. All of this, and more, discussed this week.
Support the show:
If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside. Alternatively, leave us a review! We read every one and they’re a great way to help others find the show!
Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude.
Stasher / Treepoints:
Stasher.com - Need short term storage? Use Stasher for affordable and convenient luggage storage around the world on your travels.
And Treepoints - We help small businesses be more sustainable. Everything from estimating your carbon footprint to helping you plant trees.
Until next time!
Jake & Ant