Demand reduction

Demand reduction refers to efforts aimed at reducing public desire illegal and illicit drugs. This drug policy is in contrast to the reduction of drug supply, but the two policies are often implemented together. Some discussions of demand reduction make a distinction between policies which address single issues (such as public "knowledge-of-harms") or are short-term interventions (such as in-school programs), and those which approach drug demand as a complex issue with multiple social risk factors.

In June 2000, Canada replaced the black-and-white warning messages on cigarette cartons sold in that country with color graphic depictions of the consequences of smoking, mandating that they cover 50% of the front surface of each carton. Each tobacco product features one such image from a series, which includes people dying in hospitals, rotting mouths, and dissected body parts depicting tumors, along with simple bold messages stating that cigarettes cause cancer, mouth disease, impotence, and harm babies.

Other examples of demand reduction programs include D.A.R.E., the State of Montana's Not Even Once., and the Drug policy of Sweden.

Economists such as Milton Friedman agree that, due to the law of supply and demand, reducing demand is the only effective way to reduce drug use long-term. It is questionable, however, whether the programs pursued under the name of demand reduction actually reduce demand.

See also

• Arguments for and against drug prohibition
• Drug abuse
• Hard and soft drugs
• Harm reduction
• Recreational drug use
• Supply and demand
• War on drugs

References