--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Drugs have destroyed many lives, but…" description: "\"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 dru..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59d/kofi-annan-799_destroyed_drugs-have-destroyed-many-lives-but-wron_1141035.png" --- # Drugs have destroyed many lives, but wrongheaded… ![“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 drugs, it has not worked. There should be decriminalization of drugs.” quote by Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59d/kofi-annan-799_destroyed_drugs-have-destroyed-many-lives-but-wron_1141035.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59d/kofi-annan-799_destroyed_drugs-have-destroyed-many-lives-but-wron_1141035.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59d/kofi-annan-799_destroyed_drugs-have-destroyed-many-lives-but-wron_1141035.png) > “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 drugs, it has not worked. There should be decriminalization of drugs.” [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Drug policies have failed, causing more harm than the drugs themselves; decriminalization is needed. **In simple terms:** Current drug policies cause more damage than drugs. Key Takeaway Support drug decriminalization. Themes policy health justice Mood urgent concerned Type advocacy policy When to use this quote - public health - criminal justice reform - community outreach - legislative debates Key Concepts drugs government law Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports decriminalization? - How can societies address addiction while reforming laws? A Different Perspective Implementation faces political resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War on drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-on-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 war on drugs has failed in West Africa and around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-war-on-drugs-has-failed-in-west-africa-and-around-the-world/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [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/) > [“Drugs have destroyed many people. But wrong government policies have destroyed many more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/drugs-have-destroyed-many-people-but-wrong-government-policies-have/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [What drugs have not destroyed, the war on them has](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/what-drugs-have-not-destroyed-the-war-on-them-has/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [The war on drugs - a big-government product if there ever was one - has been wildly unsuccessful, by any metric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-cupp/the-war-on-drugs-a-big-government-product-if-there-ever-was-one-has/) [S.E. 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And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-were-all-children-once-and-we-all-share-the-desire-for-the-well/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [You will recall that for months after 9/11, there was incredible support and sympathy for the US. I really hoped and wished they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/you-will-recall-that-for-months-after-9-11-there-was-incredible/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [A nation has the right to defend itself, but when it comes to the broader issue of peace and security, the legitimacy rests only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/a-nation-has-the-right-to-defend-itself-but-when-it-comes-to-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Sometimes when you take a tough action against one side in the conflict, they see you as part of the conflict and they attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/sometimes-when-you-take-a-tough-action-against-one-side-in-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Some have suggested that ideally there must be some international body that would treat areas like the Arctic as a global commerce, a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/some-have-suggested-that-ideally-there-must-be-some-international/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [In an age of interdependence, global citizenship - based on trust and sense of shared responsibility - is a crucial pillar of progress. 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