Contributions to the discussion on drug legalization, decriminalization and decriminalization (II)
By Jorge Rolón Luna*
The use of consciousness-altering substances should be a health issue. And this, it should be added, when such use is considered “problematic”. Drug use does not always have that character; in other words, it does not always affect a person’s functionality, generate addiction, deterioration of health or behavioral disorders. As a health problem, it can be compared to cancer, diabetes, degenerative diseases, heart disease or alcoholism, and should therefore be approached as these cases. This should be qualified, obviously, given a certain relationship between the use of some drugs and the commission of punishable acts (crack and opiates, especially), a link that derives, in turn, from the way in which States deal with this health problem, criminalizing users, thus contributing to their entry into the world of crime.