I don't want to live in a world where you deter bad behavior by punishing innocent people. There are reasons to treat people with dignity and respect over and above simple consequentialist calculus. Is it possible even in principle to ground drug prohibitions scheduling decisions on objective research given the nature of the questions involved? I'm in favor of legalization of a lot more controlled substances that are legalized right now, but I recognize the difficulties involved.
Welcome to the December 2022 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number — based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questions themselves are good — and sometimes group them together if they are about a similar topic. Enjoy!
Remember that I take a holiday break at the end of the year, so the next AMA will be at the beginning of February.
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