Let's not talk about drugs

The concept of ‘drugs’, as we understand it today, is a regulatory construct that was invented at the beginning of the 20th century as part of the creation of the international prohibition regime. Substances that come under this banner share little in common except how they are regulated. It follows that if we wish to contest prohibition, we will also need to contest, and perhaps eventually abandon, the idea of ‘drugs’. Some of the complexities in developing alternative terminology and concepts are briefly discussed.