[DiogenesLamp]

Occasionally I get into arguments with people who think drugs should be legalized. I have long pointed to the consequences of losing the Drug War in China, but invariably I get back a response that "America is not China", implying that somehow culture will protect us from a physiological addiction.

Humans are humans, and what destroyed China can also destroy anyone else foolish enough to attempt it.

[Antoninus]

Humans are humans, and what destroyed China can also destroy anyone else foolish enough to attempt it.

Bingo.

[kaehurowing]

We have hundreds of brain-damaged people wandering around outside my downtown office building right now. Brain damaged from drugs and euphemistically called “the homeless.” The police are constantly dealing with them, and they are often violent and deranged. Huges spikes in crime.

[NobleFree]

"America is not China", implying that somehow culture will protect us from a physiological addiction.

Opium was legal in the USA for centuries, and use never got anywhere near China levels.

“Genetic factors account for about half of the likelihood that an individual will develop addiction. Environmental factors interact with the person’s biology and affect the extent to which genetic factors exert their influence. Resiliencies the individual acquires (through parenting or later life experiences) can affect the extent to which genetic predispositions lead to the behavioral and other manifestations of addiction. Culture also plays a role in how addiction becomes actualized in persons with biological vulnerabilities to the development of addiction.” - American Society of Addiction Medicine