Editing Drug prohibition (section)

== Definitions ==
''Drugs'', in the context of ''prohibition,'' are any of a number of [[Psychoactive drugs|psychoactive substances]] whose use a government or religious body seeks to control. What constitutes a ''drug'' varies by century and belief system. What is a [[Psychoactive drugs|psychoactive substance]] is relatively well known to modern science.<ref name="bushbook">{{cite book|chapter=CHAPTER 1 Alcohol and Other Drugs|isbn=978-0-7245-3361-9|chapter-url=http://www.nt.gov.au/health/healthdev/health_promotion/bushbook/volume2/chap1/sect1.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203132420/http://www.nt.gov.au/health/healthdev/health_promotion/bushbook/volume2/chap1/sect1.htm|archive-date=December 3, 2016|df=mdy-all|title=Homepage|date=September 2, 2016|publisher=Territory Health Services |access-date=August 4, 2017}}</ref> Examples include a range from [[caffeine]] found in coffee, tea, and chocolate, [[nicotine]] in tobacco products; botanical extracts morphine and heroin, and synthetic compounds [[MDMA]] and [[fentanyl]]. Almost without exception, these substances also have a medical use, in which case they are called [[pharmaceutical drug]]s or just ''pharmaceuticals.'' The use of [[medicine]] to save or extend life or to alleviate suffering is uncontroversial in most cultures. ''Prohibition'' applies to certain conditions of possession or use. ''Recreational use'' refers to the use of substances primarily for their psychoactive effect outside of a [[Medicine|clinical situation]] or doctor's care.

In the twenty-first century, caffeine has pharmaceutical uses. [[Caffeine]] is used to treat [[bronchopulmonary dysplasia]]. In most cultures, caffeine in the form of coffee or tea is unregulated. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world every day.<ref name="Ponte">{{Cite journal | last = Ponte  | first = Stefano | title = The 'Latte Revolution'? Regulation, Markets and Consumption in the Global Coffee Chain | journal = World Development  | volume = 30 | issue = 7 | pages=1099–1122 | doi=10.1016/s0305-750x(02)00032-3| year = 2002 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.571.8956 }}</ref> Some religions, including [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], prohibit coffee.<ref name="coffeefacts">{{cite web |url=http://www.coffeefacts.com/ |title=Coffee facts, coffee trivia & coffee information! |publisher=Coffee Facts |access-date=February 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100118145507/http://www.coffeefacts.com/ |archive-date=January 18, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> They believe that it is both physically and spiritually unhealthy to consume coffee.<ref name="beliefnet-mormons">{{cite web |publisher=Beliefnet |url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/98/story_9838_1.html |title=Who Are the Mormons? |access-date=February 13, 2010}}</ref>

A government's interest to control a drug may be based on its negative effects on its users, or it may simply have a revenue interest. The [[Parliament of Great Britain|British parliament]] prohibited the possession of untaxed tea with the imposition of the [[Tea Act|Tea Act of 1773]]. In this case, as in many others, it is not a substance that is prohibited, but the conditions under which it is possessed or consumed. Those conditions include matters of intent, which makes the enforcement of laws difficult. In Colorado possession of "blenders, bowls, containers, spoons, and mixing devices" is illegal if there was ''intent'' to use them with drugs.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Many drugs, beyond their pharmaceutical and recreational uses, have industrial uses. [[Nitrous oxide]], or ''laughing gas'' is a dental anesthetic, also used to prepare whipped cream, fuel rocket engines, and enhance the performance of race cars. Ethanol, or drinking alcohol, is also used as a fuel, industrial solvent and disinfectant.