To highlight the right of individuals to choose if they would like to partake in the recreational use of psychoactive drugs, this essay will draw upon Mills’ utilitarian framework of civil liberties. His premise is quite clear; the only justifiable reason to exercise power over someone, against their will, is to ensure that harm is prevented to others. However, that individuals own physical or moral good is not a sufficient warrant for liberty restriction (Mill, 1982 p.68). In terms of recreational drugs, Mills argument would imply that public policy has no right to prohibit individual drug use as long as it did not result in harm to others. Even if some users did exert harm to others whilst under the influence of psychoactive drugs, this would
