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Harrison Act
The iron law of prohibition is the principle that, when a substance is made illegal, stronger and more dangerous versions of that substance inevitably take over the market. This is because it’s far more profitable for traffickers and dealers to sell more concentrated substances, which have a higher value by weight. For instance, during alcohol prohibition, it was always more profitable for traffickers to sell hard liquor than to sell beer. As a result, hard liquor was often the only alcohol available, and many beer-drinkers switched to it. The iron law continues to apply to drug prohibition today, as stronger drugs like fentanyl and crack displace weaker ones like heroin and cocaine—which originally took over from the far weaker coca teas and opiate cough syrups that were widely used and legally available in the early 1900s.
Iron Law of Prohibition Quotes in Chasing the Scream
The Chasing the Scream quotes below are all either spoken by Iron Law of Prohibition or refer to Iron Law of Prohibition. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 15
Quotes
Just as when all legal routes to alcohol were cut off, beer disappeared and whisky won, when all legal routes to opiates are cut off, Oxy disappears, and heroin prevails. This isn’t a law of nature, and it isn’t caused by the drug—it is caused by the drug policy we have chosen. After the end of alcohol prohibition, White Lightning vanished—who’s even heard of it now?—and beer went back to being America’s favorite alcoholic drink. There are heroin addicts all across the United States today who would have stayed happily on Oxy if there had been a legal route to it.
This is worth repeating, because it is so striking, and we hear it so rarely, despite all the evidence. The war on drugs makes it almost impossible for drug users to get milder forms of their drug—and it pushes them inexorably toward harder drugs.
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Iron Law of Prohibition Term Timeline in Chasing the Scream
The timeline below shows where the term Iron Law of Prohibition appears in Chasing the Scream. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 15: Snowfall and Strengthening
...need stronger drugs, or higher doses, to stay satisfied. But the real reason is “ the iron law of prohibition .” During Prohibition, Americans switched from beer to liquor, which was more widely available because...
(full context)
...encouraged traffickers like Arnold Rothstein to sell stronger drugs: powder cocaine and injectable heroin. This iron law also applies to the opiate crisis. Oxycontin users want to keep using Oxycontin, but heroin...
(full context)
Chapter 17: The Man in the Well
...users access to unadulterated drugs, so they actually know what dose they are taking. Second, the iron law of prohibition suggests that lower-dose drugs will be more available and more popular after legalization.
(full context)
