In Chasing the Scream, Hari discusses the work of John Marks and shares a quote from him, "of the harms of drugs are to do with the laws around them, not the drugs themselves," (Hari, 2015). I agree with Marks' statement after reading Hari's recount of his experience with Bud Osborn, how he helped Philip Owen and the community better understand people with addictions (Hari, 2015). When people were less stigmatized and had safe places to do the drugs and access to untainted drugs, there was a significant(?) decrease in crime and death in the community. When people with addictions were starting to be listened to and given purpose, they were able to rebuild their lives and became functioning citizens again, which in turn diminished the want/need to use. Before Owen heard for himself the stories of people with addiction and things that lead them to addiction, his realization that these people "were not bad people, just broken," and had been through a lot in their lives, his mind and approach changed (Hari, 2015).

When laws make drugs illegal it creates an environment of users having to get them through illegal means, putting them in dangerous situations. Just to pocket more money, illegal forms of drugs are mixed or cut with other substances which makes dosages inconsistent and can be lethal. Non-regulated drugs also cause much more damage to the human body than using pure drugs (Hari, 2015). To combat the war on drugs, illegal drug dealers are also creating new psychoactive substances which are not illegal if they are not registered yet in NPS.Finder (Schifano et al., 2021). With the ability of illegal drug dealers to adjust and create new chemical compositions of substances to evade legal action, the laws against drugs seem to continue to do more harm than good.

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