I don't think that most people are usually talking about all substance abuse bans, but rather specific substances like marijuana or psychedelics. In fact, many

I don't think that most people are usually talking about all substance abuse bans, but rather specific substances like marijuana or psychedelics. In fact, many defenders of certain drugs will mention the dangers and harms of alcohol in comparison to the banned drug. It's a little amusing to see people who have alcohol as a major part of their life respond negatively to other drugs with a much smaller social impact. edit: or, from another perspective, let's say we find 8 hours of sleep a night, a better diet with fewer inflammatory foods, plenty of water, and an hour of exercise a day reduce violence by 40% in total. We criminalize not following this exercise program. While it's damaging on a societal level if people don't abide by the Healthy Lifestyle, on the individual level most people would describe it as a victimless crime and say the government should not be able to regulate these decisions. (Or would they, if the effect was that strong?) Whereas, on the opposite end of the spectrum, taking a pill with meth and PCP might increase the risk so much that very, very few people would call it "victimless" or wish to leave that decision up to the individual.