PHIL202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Paternalism, Bungie, French Fries
26 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
A substance other than food which by the chemical nature affects the structure or function of a living organism. Medical drugs: used for the treatment of disease. Recreational drugs: used for other purposes than. Borderline cases: morphine, prozac, xanax, birth control pills. Note: whether a substance counts as a drug has nothing to do with whether it is illegal or not. Some harms to nonusers, if sufficiently probable and sever, may justify governmental restrictions or prohibitions. Holds that the government is permitted to regulate drug use when that will produce the best outcome. Relevant factors: violence, addiction, pleasure from taking drugs, ill-health effects, pain and suffering caused by imprisonment, etc. Holds that legislation or regulation of recreational drugs will produce the best consequences for actual and potential users. Restricted focus because a genuine consequentialism will consider all the consequences of a course of action or legislative regime.
