Ethan Nadelmann

About the author: Ethan Nadelmann is the director of the Lindesmith Center, a drug-policy research institute.

Switzerland is experimenting with prescribing heroin to heroin addicts who have not been successful in quitting on their own. The Swiss experiment is based on the assumption that achieving a drug-free society is impossible, and therefore the best way to mitigate the social and economic costs of drug abuse is to assume a "harm reduction" approach. Such an approach—while still aggressively punishing drug dealers—works with drug users to reduce overdose, disease, and death. In addition to supplying controlled amounts of heroin to addicts each day, the Swiss government provides clean rooms where addicts can inject heroin. So far the experiment has shown that heroin causes little damage and that the...