In human society controlled substances have always had a significant presence in social situations. From the dawn of human civilization in Central Africa about twenty-five thousand years ago, drugs have been a part of human culture. In almost every past civilization there is evidence of drug use in some form. Honest normal people obviously have a want inside of them to alter their state of consciousness, to argue this fact is both a futile and imbecile endeavor. Instead we must come to terms with the reasons one would want to gethigh.? To portray these users as anything less than normal humans would only demonstrate the extent of one's ignorance on matters of human nature. What we do is what we do, and all that we do by definition is natural. For any one to call these controlled substancesbad? orevil? again would only demonstrate one's overwhelming ignorance. We can instead acknowledge the fact that in modern society, certain drugs could be counterproductive or even dangerous to one's wellbeing. I aim to designate the reasons one in modern American society would ever think to voluntarily come under the influence of a substance. Also I would like to elaborate on the justification of ritualistic or ceremonial use of substances, and how this reflects on the prohibition of select substances in the United States. We must reevaluate the situation of prohibition in the United States based on the facts presented herein. I also aim to question the justification of total prohibition in light of alternate policies that might ultimately benefit our society in a much greater way than prohibition ever did. I will try my best to harbor no biases towards or against drugs. I hope that the reader when reading this will employ the same objective attitude. Having stated that, controlled substances can have a definitely ha a profound negative effect on one's being. Depending on the circumstances, drugs can be extremely counterproductive towards one's gene...