Notice that this strategy is one that places the burden of proof solely on the shoulders of proponents of punishment for drug users. Far too often debates over decriminalization erroneously assume that because the illegality of drugs is the status quo, anyone seeking to change the current state of things is burdened with the task of providing positive reasons for decriminalization, which conveniently ignores the responsibility of the state itself to justify its public policies. If the state and defenders of our continued drug policies cannot provide a rational justification f…