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the answers, their results have been compelling. I've traveled with an appetite
for learning why Europe has fewer drug-related deaths, less drug-related incar-
ceration, and less drug consumption per capita than we do here in America. (I
have to admit, though, that as I reviewed the numbers to back up my claims
for this chapter, I discovered one irrefutable fact: Statistics on drug use and
abuse are all over the map. While most of the empirical studies reinforce my
conclusions, conl icting data always seem to emerge. I assume this is because
most sources have an agenda—pro or con—which skews their i ndings.)
To be clear, there is no Europe-wide agreement on drug policy. Some
countries—including the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Switzer-
land—categorize marijuana as a soft drug (similar to alcohol and tobacco).
Others—including Sweden and Greece—strictly enforce laws against both
marijuana and hard drugs (in fact, drug-related arrests are on the rise in
some countries). But what most European countries have in common is an
emphasis on education and prevention. h ey believe that by handling drug
abuse more as a public health problem than as a criminal one, they are better
able to reduce the harm it causes—both to the individual (health problems
and antisocial behavior) and to society (healthcare costs, policing costs, and
drug-related crime).
In an Amsterdam “cof eeshop,” you won't fi nd cof ee.
