A proportionality approach to the ethics of drug policy

Abstract

This paper applies a proportionality approach to examining the ethics of drug policy. The principle of proportionality states that to be ethically permissible a policy should be likely to impose only burdens that are proportionate to its benefits. I develop an analysis of proportionality judgements as involving two important kinds of ethical reasoning, characterised as consequentialist and deontological, which often interact with each other. I then apply the analysis to examples of drug policies to show how it assists in identifying forms of ethical reasoning potentially informing policy decisions and how they can interact, and identifying normative claims required for the policy to be ethically justifiable. In doing so, the proportionality approach aims to prompt assessment of normative commitments that may affect policy decisions.