As objectively evil as the illicit use of drugs is, one has to wonder if it’s moral to reduce the harm the use of drugs causes knowing that it can foster more drug use. Is it theoretically morally/civilly permissible to promote harm reduction despite the risk of more drug use? i’m trying to use St. Aquinas’ logic that it would be theoretically be permissible (not morally though) to allow prostitution if it was for the sake of social order.
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This is a complicated issue. “On paper”, it seems easy to take a “black and white” approach and say the only option is total abstinence from socially unacceptable drugs (while socially acceptable drugs such as alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and highly addictive pharmaceuticals are accepted).
However, life is often not “black and white”. Addiction is a case in point. You could even say it’s a spectrum, with some people who are ravaged by extreme addiction that is literally life threatening or even deadly.
Thankfully, the narrow view of addiction recovery is becoming more broad and has expanded beyond the dominant “12-step” program, which offers everyone the same singular option, regardless of their type and severity of addiction. Statistically, over half of 12-step members revert/relapse. Also, as an aside, the cloak of anonymity for the organization has not been without issues of abuse and harassment, generally reported by women.
Your mention of “Harm Reduction” is timely, because it’s an alternative for some that actually prevents them from relapsing on more dangerous and potentially deadly drug use. Cannabis is used primarily. It’s effectiveness is more than an anomaly. The singer David Crosby used this method (Cannabis use) to stay clean from “harder” drugs and it kept him from relapsing. From what I recall, he did have and adhere to strict rules as a regimen. He abstained from using cannabis until the evening when his obligations were complete and limited himself to a certain amount.
There are prescribed psychiatric drugs that require extremely careful tapering off of or the results can even be fatal to the patient. Many people use cannabis as a relaxant and in controlled ways and small amounts, as a natural anti-anxiety medication. They use it therapeutically. Comparing a natural remedy with a pharmaceutical that can have detrimental and dangerous effects related to stopping the medication, etc. It’s easy to argue the former could be a form of Harm Reduction over the latter to a good number of people.
Viewing the issue as sin or no sin is problematic. While it’s argued that Jesus consumed wine so alcohol “in moderation” is not sinful, other drugs have been arbitrarily chosen as being not sinful (e.g. caffeine and nicotine, two powerfully psychoactive drugs) as well yet were not mentioned in the Bible. In contrast, a drug such as cannabis has been considered sinful to consume with the only exception being prescribed and monitored under medical supervision.
All of this being said, If you’re asking, @scrupulous_revert , whether “Harm Reduction” would include chronic and heavy consumption of cannabis, I don’t believe that it would.
I say absolutely moral to reduce harm and potentially save lives by safe needle programs. A person who died can’t ever recover from addiction. Helping them stay alive increases the chance they may enter recovery. It expresses the Christian virtue of hope.
I do not like outsourcing our Christian obligations to the state. If someone wanted to created a charity that helps in the various ways that you have described, I support their right to do so, but I do not view this the role of the government.
I’m not quite sure what you mean.
This sounds similar to situational ethics, which modern Jesuits try to entertain. It is a fun exercise, but it leads to the celebration of sin in my opinion.
I am a member of the Libertarian Party Christian Caucus and we are trying to get rid of the prostitution plank of the National Platform, because it is not something that we believe should be normalized nor celebrated. Though it can lead to a societal heathenism, I would rather it be more like the modern view of cigarette smoking (disgusting & harmful to your health, though not illegal, very much sinful).
The same for the war on drugs. I would never do drugs if they were all made legal. And I believe the majority of Americans would not either. There are other things that drugs may lead to that could be prosecuted (theft, violence, vandalism to name a few). But, the “war on drugs” has failed.
But, you are not asking about the legal position of these issues, nor a moral position of these issues. Rather, I understand your question to be from a theological perspective.
If our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, we should not theologically therefore misuse our bodies with drug-use and prostitutions, which can not only be harmful to the physical body, but also to the soul of oneself and others.
Hey, Guys 
sorry for being absentee, i got bronchitis that knocked the wind out of me (pardon the pun) and it’s been a rough week. I believe the document I got the question from was Summa Theologica. I can’t find a hard source.
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My daughter’s music teacher just sent out an announcement that she too has bronchitis, so choir was canceled this morning. Must be going around. Hope you are feeling better.