---
title: "4 Drug use Quotes By Daniel Waterman"
description: "4 Drug use quotes by Daniel Waterman. Plus more from Daniel Waterman and more Drug use sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/daniel-waterman-25499_belief_with-drug-use-related-harms-explanatory_303076.jpg"
---

> [ “With drug use related harms, explanatory models are often presented as predictive tools, even though they ‘are \[rarely if ever\] predictive of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/with-drug-use-related-harms-explanatory-models-are-often-presented-as/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/daniel-waterman-25499_belief_with-drug-use-related-harms-explanatory_303076.jpg)

> [“Introduction of rational standards to differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable forms of drug related conduct allows us to hold drug users fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/introduction-of-rational-standards-to-differentiate-between/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37f/daniel-waterman-25499_accountability_introduction-of-rational-standards-to-di_1339118.jpg)

> [“Moral ideas about what constitutes a meritorious or meaningful use of one’s life and opportunities produce specific attitudes towards drug use and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/moral-ideas-about-what-constitutes-a-meritorious-or-meaningful-use-of/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/523/daniel-waterman-25499_character_moral-ideas-about-what-constitutes-a-mer_1600717.jpg)

> [“A system of justice does not need to pursue retribution. If the purpose of drug sentencing is to prevent harm, all we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/a-system-of-justice-does-not-need-to-pursue-retribution-if-the/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/daniel-waterman-25499_choice_a-system-of-justice-does-not-need-to-pur_2751329.jpg)

## Other authors on Drug use

- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-gabor-mate-36627.jpg) Gabor Maté 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-use/gabor-mat/)

## More by Daniel Waterman

> [“I am keenly aware that the security we enjoy is frail, and could easily be disrupted. Secretly, a nagging fear gnaws at me: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/i-am-keenly-aware-that-the-security-we-enjoy-is-frail-and-could/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“Being Jewish did not compromise the humanitarian and universalist ideals of my close relatives who, having experienced persecution close hand, were more concerned with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/being-jewish-did-not-compromise-the-humanitarian-and-universalist/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“State sponsored medicine and science can function as ideology, inspiring blind commitment, fanatical defensiveness and denial, particularly of outcomes inconsistent with the preferred explanatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/state-sponsored-medicine-and-science-can-function-as-ideology/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [ “With drug use related harms, explanatory models are often presented as predictive tools, even though they ‘are \[rarely if ever\] predictive of consequent behavior’… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/with-drug-use-related-harms-explanatory-models-are-often-presented-as/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“if we want individuals to take responsibility for their actions we must first establish a rational, effective and empowering means of separating individual responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/if-we-want-individuals-to-take-responsibility-for-their-actions-we/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“Systems of retributive justice work well as long as they are proportional. However, in complex societies, where the State is the arbiter of justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/systems-of-retributive-justice-work-well-as-long-as-they-are/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“A significant factor often overlooked by those considering the failure of drug policy is the general aim of deflecting or assigning responsibility away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/a-significant-factor-often-overlooked-by-those-considering-the/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“Introduction of rational standards to differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable forms of drug related conduct allows us to hold drug users fully accountable for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/introduction-of-rational-standards-to-differentiate-between/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“It is easier to exploit and manipulate people if they are fearful or confused, (and discouraged from trusting their own judgment). Our investigation identifies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/it-is-easier-to-exploit-and-manipulate-people-if-they-are-fearful-or/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“Believing in the possibility of resurrection and eternal life, Christians seek ‘redemption’ through moral behaviour. But moral behaviour does not, in itself, assuage fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/believing-in-the-possibility-of-resurrection-and-eternal-life/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“We are particularly concerned with the question to what degree approval and implementation of an explanatory model minimising collective or institutional responsibility for certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/we-are-particularly-concerned-with-the-question-to-what-degree/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“Moral ideas about what constitutes a meritorious or meaningful use of one’s life and opportunities produce specific attitudes towards drug use and intoxication.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/moral-ideas-about-what-constitutes-a-meritorious-or-meaningful-use-of/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“The drug problem’ cannot be understood without a critical examination of the language and narratives of underpinning the explanatory models invoked to prove that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/the-drug-problem-cannot-be-understood-without-a-critical-examination/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“The recasting of the Origin Myth as a story about the perils of disobedience precipitated a kind of decoupling of scripture from religious experience:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/the-recasting-of-the-origin-myth-as-a-story-about-the-perils-of/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [“When interpreted as infallible, the truth claims of powerful institutions — whether religious or secular — tend to emphasise the fallibility of individuals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/when-interpreted-as-infallible-the-truth-claims-of-powerful/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

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                        "text": "“A system of justice does not need to pursue retribution. If the purpose of drug sentencing is to prevent harm, all we need to do is decide what to do with people who pose a genuine risk to society or cause tangible harm. There are perfectly rational ways of doing this; in fact, most societies already pursue such policies with respect to alcohol: we leave people free to drink and get inebriated, but set limits on where and when. In general, we prosecute drunk drivers, not inebriated pedestrians. In this sense, the justice system is in many respects a battleground between moral ideas and evidence concerning how to most effectively promote both individual and societal interests, liberty, health, happiness and wellbeing. Severely compromising this system, insofar as it serves to further these ideals, is our vacillation or obsession with moral responsibility, which is, in the broadest sense, an attempt to isolate the subjective element of human choice, an exercise that all too readily deteriorates into blaming and scapegoating without providing effective solutions to the actual problem. The problem with the question of moral responsibility is that it is inherently subjective and involves conjecture about an individuals’ state of mind, awareness and ability to act that can rarely if ever be proved. Thus it involves precisely the same type of conjecture that characterizes superstitious notions of possession and the influence of the devil and provides no effective means of managing conduct: the individual convicted for an offence or crime considered morally wrong is convicted based on a series of hypotheses and probabilities and not necessarily because he or she is actually morally wrong. The fairness and effectiveness of a system of justice based on such hypotheses is highly questionable particularly as a basis for preventing or reducing drug use related harm. For example, with respect to drugs, the system quite obviously fails as a deterrent and the system is not organised to ‘reform’ the offender much less to ensure that he or she has ‘learned a lesson’; moreover, the offender does not get an opportunity to make amends or even have a conversation with the alleged victim. In the case of retributive justice, the justice system is effectively mopping up after the fact. In other words, as far as deterrence is concerned, the entire exercise of justice becomes an exercise based on faith, rather than one based on evidence.”",
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