--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The indispensable foundation of a…" description: "\"“The indispensable foundation of a rational stance toward drug addiction would be the decriminalization of all substance dependence and the provision o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_the-indispensable-foundation-of-a-ration_2703512.jpg" --- # The indispensable foundation of a rational stance toward… ![“The indispensable foundation of a rational stance toward drug addiction would be the decriminalization of all substance dependence and the provision of such substances to confirmed users under safely controlled conditions. It’s important to note that decriminalization does not mean legalization…” quote by Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_the-indispensable-foundation-of-a-ration_2703512.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_the-indispensable-foundation-of-a-ration_2703512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_the-indispensable-foundation-of-a-ration_2703512.jpg) > ““The indispensable foundation of a rational stance toward drug addiction would be the decriminalization of all substance dependence and the provision of such substances to confirmed users under safely controlled conditions. It’s important to note that decriminalization does not mean legalization. Legalization would make manufacturing and selling drugs legal, acceptable commercial activities. Decriminalization refers only to removing from the penal code the possession of drugs for personal use. It would create the possibility of medically supervised dispensing when necessary. The fear that easier access to drugs would fuel addiction is unfounded: drugs, we have seen, are not the cause of addiction. Despite the fact that cannabis is openly available in Holland, for instance, Dutch per-capita use of marijuana is half that in the United States. And no one is advocating the open availability of hard drugs. Decriminalization also does not mean that addicts will be able to walk into any pharmacy to get a prescription of cocaine. Their drugs of dependence should be dispensed under public authority and under medical supervision, in pure form, not adulterated by unscrupulous dealers. Addicts also ought to be offered the information, the facilities and the instruments they need to use drugs as safely as possible. The health benefits of such an approach are self-evident: greatly reduced risk of infection and disease transmission, much less risk of overdose and, very importantly, comfortable and regular access to medical care. Not having to spend exorbitant amounts on drugs that, in themselves, are inexpensive to prepare, addicts would not be forced into crime, violence, prostitution or poverty to pay for their habits. They would not have to decide between eating or drug use, or to scrounge for food in garbage cans or pick cigarette butts out of sidewalk puddles. They would no longer need to suffer malnutrition.”” [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Decriminalizing personal drug possession while providing medically supervised access reduces health risks, crime, and social harms without legalizing sales. **In simple terms:** Decriminalization + safe supply lowers addiction harms. Key Takeaway Adopt harm‑reduction policies. Themes public health drug policy harm reduction social justice addiction treatment Mood concerned hopeful pragmatic Type policy advocacy educational When to use this quote - public health programs - addiction clinics - community outreach - law reform Key Concepts Medical supervision regulated supply risk mitigation social welfare Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance safety and control? - What safeguards prevent misuse of medical supply? A Different Perspective Decriminalization may face political resistance and public misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) [Addiction Decriminalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction-decriminalization-2752234/) [Decriminalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decriminalization-1394549/) [Decriminalization Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decriminalization-does-2752236/) [Decriminalization Refers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decriminalization-refers-2752235/) [Drug addict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-addict/) [Drug addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-addiction/) [Drug use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-use/) [Drugs Decriminalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs-decriminalization-2752233/) [Health benefits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-benefits/) [Medical care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical-care/) [Selling drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling-drugs/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [“Many people fear that decriminalization and the controlled dispensing of drugs will lead to widespread substance use among people who are now deterred from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/many-people-fear-that-decriminalization-and-the-controlled-dispensing/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [The main point in our report was to recommend decriminalization...because of the way laws are applied, which have not worked. We have applied them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-main-point-in-our-report-was-to-recommend-decriminalization/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Decriminalization would take the profit out of drugs and greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the drug-related violence that is currently plaguing our streets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-schmoke/decriminalization-would-take-the-profit-out-of-drugs-and-greatly/) [Kurt Schmoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-schmoke/) > [I think decriminalization would've been a wiser first step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hickenlooper/i-think-decriminalization-would-ve-been-a-wiser-first-step/) [John Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hickenlooper/) > [I am for decriminalization. The significant aspect of that is that we don't force prostitutes to have to get a license to work. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-brown/i-am-for-decriminalization-the-significant-aspect-of-that-is-that-we/) [Chester Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-brown/) > [“No: it was blacks who killed marijuana decriminalization in D.C.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr-2/no-it-was-blacks-who-killed-marijuana-decriminalization-in-d-c/) [James Forman Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr-2/) > [The biggest difference in what's going on in New Zealand versus the rest of the world, aside from the decriminalization of sex work, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/the-biggest-difference-in-what-s-going-on-in-new-zealand-versus-the/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [Drugs have destroyed many lives, but wrongheaded governmental policies have destroyed many more. I think it's obvious that after 40 years of war on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/drugs-have-destroyed-many-lives-but-wrongheaded-governmental-policies/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Ima a gangster ima stright up g the gangster life is the life for me killing people by day selling drugs by night the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ima-a-gangster-ima-stright-up-g-the-gangster-life-is-the-life-for-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now as far as the organization selling drugs, no. Individuals selling drugs is something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-zito/now-as-far-as-the-organization-selling-drugs-no-individuals-selling/) [Chuck Zito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-zito/) > [Many kids turn to selling drugs. It's not a good career choice, but they see it as a way to get money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-harris/many-kids-turn-to-selling-drugs-it-s-not-a-good-career-choice-but/) [Richard Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-harris/) > [I mean, I knew I wasn't a nice person, but what did I do in my past life to deserve this? I must have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-mean-i-knew-i-wasn-t-a-nice-person-but-what-did-i-do-in-my-past/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [“Stealing drugs, selling drugs, buying clothes, renting luxury cars, taking clothes back, ordering blender drinks, this isn't what I'd call Real Life, not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/stealing-drugs-selling-drugs-buying-clothes-renting-luxury-cars/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [When in some communities selling drugs is so lucrative that that's a pretty big enticement that we have to break down. Part of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-gonzalez/when-in-some-communities-selling-drugs-is-so-lucrative-that-that-s-a/) [Matt Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-gonzalez/) > [I am the epitome of the underdog. By societies standards I should have been dead a long time ago, and I was nobody's gangster,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-k-williams/i-am-the-epitome-of-the-underdog-by-societies-standards-i-should-have/) [Michael K. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-k-williams/) ## More by Gabor Maté > [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The fact is, we in this society are often quite removed from our own emotional reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-fact-is-we-in-this-society-are-often-quite-removed-from-our-own/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Shame is the deepest of the “negative emotions,” a feeling we will do almost anything to avoid. Unfortunately, our abiding fear of shame impairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/shame-is-the-deepest-of-the-negative-emotions-a-feeling-we-will-do/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Many adults have not attained maturity — have not mastered being independent, self-motivated individuals capable of tending their own emotional needs and of respecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/many-adults-have-not-attained-maturity-have-not-mastered-being/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Autonomy is impossible as long as one is driven by anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/autonomy-is-impossible-as-long-as-one-is-driven-by-anything/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“If a mother has eight children, there are eight mothers. This is not simply because of the fact that the mother was different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/if-a-mother-has-eight-children-there-are-eight-mothers-this-is-not/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Without attachment, the parent succeeds at most in cowing a child into obedience, at the price of grave damage to the relationship and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/without-attachment-the-parent-succeeds-at-most-in-cowing-a-child-into/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Attachment is our connection with the world. In the earliest attachment relationships, we gain or lose the ability to stay open, self-nurturing and healthy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/attachment-is-our-connection-with-the-world-in-the-earliest/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“So what you've actually got is traumatized children. When children are traumatized that affects how they feel about themselves, which is deeply ashamed because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/so-what-you-ve-actually-got-is-traumatized-children-when-children-are/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Even without world wars, revolutions and emigration, siblings growing up in the same home almost never share the same environment. More accurately, brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/even-without-world-wars-revolutions-and-emigration-siblings-growing/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“We think that there are people who are normal over here, and then there’s the pathological ones who have depression, anxiety, addiction or schizophrenia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/we-think-that-there-are-people-who-are-normal-over-here-and-then/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“One cannot get much more vulnerable than to expose oneself psychologically. To share oneself with another and then be misunderstood or rejected is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/one-cannot-get-much-more-vulnerable-than-to-expose-oneself/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The areas of the cortex responsible for attention and self-regulation develop in response to the emotional interaction with the person whom we may call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-areas-of-the-cortex-responsible-for-attention-and-self-regulation/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Peer-oriented children live in a universe of severely limited and superficial attachments. The quest for sameness being the least vulnerable way of attaching, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/peer-oriented-children-live-in-a-universe-of-severely-limited-and/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The United States contains less than 5 percent of the world’s population but houses nearly a quarter of the world’s prisoners.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-united-states-contains-less-than-5-percent-of-the-world-s/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) [Explore all 244 Gabor Maté quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) ## More Addiction quotes > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) [Robbin Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbin-crosby/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I really think the disease aspect gets lost when you're talking about alcoholism and addiction; it's not like you're battling leukemia or a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-irsay/i-really-think-the-disease-aspect-gets-lost-when-you-re-talking-about/) [Jim Irsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-irsay/) > [I had an addiction to artificial points of success. Like being able to run for this or run for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/i-had-an-addiction-to-artificial-points-of-success-like-being-able-to/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [“Addictions are just symptoms of underlying issues, and in my view Nikki self-medicated the emotional pain of his childhood, and being away from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/addictions-are-just-symptoms-of-underlying-issues-and-in-my-view/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [“Oil. The great addiction of the civilized world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/oil-the-great-addiction-of-the-civilized-world/) [Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/) > [“They say when you fall in love in love with someone that person becomes like a drug,an addiction you don't want to live without.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-when-you-fall-in-love-in-love-with-someone-that-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Addictions - Run to Jesus instead of running to your addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/addictions-run-to-jesus-instead-of-running-to-your-addiction/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Music is my personal addiction. So much of everything I've done has only been to open more doors for the music itself. It all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/music-is-my-personal-addiction-so-much-of-everything-i-ve-done-has/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [“I am made of a thousand ghosts. Only you can shoot me down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-james/i-am-made-of-a-thousand-ghosts-only-you-can-shoot-me-down/) [Bella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-james/) > [Religious work is one of the best ways to keep from facing your reality if you are Christian, if you are using it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-miller/religious-work-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-keep-from-facing-your/) [Keith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-miller/) > [Cold sweats, hallucinations I wanna speed to stop. The hell I'm going through The addiction's taking you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bullet-for-my-valentine/cold-sweats-hallucinations-i-wanna-speed-to-stop-the-hell-i-m-going/) [Bullet For My Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bullet-for-my-valentine/) > [As addictions go, reading is among the cleanest, easiest to feed, happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/as-addictions-go-reading-is-among-the-cleanest-easiest-to-feed/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Alcoholism is a choice... not a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-norman/alcoholism-is-a-choice-not-a-life-sentence/) [David Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-norman/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Browse all 2,134 Addiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The indispensable foundation of a rational stance toward drug addiction would be the decriminalization of all substance dependence and the provision of such substances to confirmed users under safely controlled conditions. It’s important to note that decriminalization does not mean legalization. Legalization would make manufacturing and selling drugs legal, acceptable commercial activities. Decriminalization refers only to removing from the penal code the possession of drugs for personal use. It would create the possibility of medically supervised dispensing when necessary. The fear that easier access to drugs would fuel addiction is unfounded: drugs, we have seen, are not the cause of addiction. Despite the fact that cannabis is openly available in Holland, for instance, Dutch per-capita use of marijuana is half that in the United States. And no one is advocating the open availability of hard drugs. Decriminalization also does not mean that addicts will be able to walk into any pharmacy to get a prescription of cocaine. Their drugs of dependence should be dispensed under public authority and under medical supervision, in pure form, not adulterated by unscrupulous dealers. Addicts also ought to be offered the information, the facilities and the instruments they need to use drugs as safely as possible. The health benefits of such an approach are self-evident: greatly reduced risk of infection and disease transmission, much less risk of overdose and, very importantly, comfortable and regular access to medical care. Not having to spend exorbitant amounts on drugs that, in themselves, are inexpensive to prepare, addicts would not be forced into crime, violence, prostitution or poverty to pay for their habits. They would not have to decide between eating or drug use, or to scrounge for food in garbage cans or pick cigarette butts out of sidewalk puddles. 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