Drug policy reform, also known as drug law reform, is any proposed changes to the way governments respond to the socio-cultural influence on perception of psychoactive substance use. Proponents of drug policy reform believe that prohibition of drugs—such as cannabis, opioids, cocaine, amphetamines and hallucinogens—has been ineffectual and counterproductive. They argue that, rather than using laws and enforcement as the primary means to responding to substance use, governments and citizens would be better served by reducing harm and regulating the production, marketing, and distribution of currently illegal drugs in a manner similar to (or some would say better than) how alcohol and tobacco are regulated.
Proponents of drug law reform argue that relative harm should be taken into account in the regulation of controlled substances. Addictive drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and caffeine have been a traditional part of Western culture for centuries and are legal, when in fact the first two are more harmful than some substances classified under Schedule I. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, rated the hallucinogen psilocybin (Schedule I) less toxic than Aspirin. The Dutch government found this also to be true.