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anti-drug law

anti-drug law

1 4.0
A law that bans making, selling, or using illegal drugs
  • noun
  • /ˈænti drʌg lɔ/
  • NSFW
translation icon : ley antidrogas
  • Many organizations are campaigning for the repeal of outdated anti-drug laws that hinder rehabilitation efforts.

Examples

  • This paper evaluates the relationships among federal anti-drug law enforcement expenditures, education and treatment expenditures, and public health outcomes.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Now, with the anti-drug laws in their 10th decade, America is the number one jailer in the world due to these religious-based, anti-inalienable rights laws.

    Blog text (20)
  • The government introduced a new anti-drug law to combat the rising use of illegal substances.

  • The anti-drug law mandates severe penalties for the manufacture and distribution of narcotics.

Antonyms

52 4.1

Making something allowed by law

How Strict

zero-tolerance policy
  • Formal
16 4.9
anti-drug law
  • NSFW
1 4.0

Surface Forms

anti-drug law singular

Morphology

anti-drug + law

The meaning is transparently built from 'anti-' (against) + 'drug' combined with 'law' (a statute), so the phrase simply denotes a law against drugs. This compositional pattern (anti‑X law) is common in English and in many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings should be able to infer the MWE.

Etymology

Anti-drug law is a phrase made of anti (meaning 'against'), drug, and law. Imagine a lawbook with a big stop sign over pills, and that's why it means 'a law that bans or controls illegal drugs'.