Words of wisdom.. let it be

Julian Critchley, who used to be the director of the Cabinet Office’s anti-drugs unit, has come out and said that drugs should be legalised. In his opinion, the government’s current policy on drugs and enforcement of the laws has “no significant, lasting impact on the availability, affordability or use of drugs”. He argues that, contrary to what many believe, there would not be a large increase in drug use as a result of legalisation and his argument makes sense: “The idea that many people are holding back solely because of a law which they know is already unenforceable is simply ridiculous”. He describes the actual effect as similar to what is happening with tobacco. “Tobacco is a legal drug, whose use is declining, and precisely because it is legal, its users are far more amenable to government control, education programmes and taxation than they would be were it illegal.”

Which brings me to a point my colleague made a few weeks ago about the black market in which drugs operate. Drugs are big business and a lot of revenue is generated that isn’t counted in the legal economy. Bringing drugs out of the underground and into the open market would provide a boost in GDP and employment, while also reducing the incentive for drug dealers to use theft and violence as tools of enforcement.

Besides bringing the previously diverted funds back into the economy, legalisation restores the citizens’ right to choose for themselves what they deem acceptable to put into their bodies. Thanks to the media and advertising, people are extremely well-informed of the effects of abusing any type of drug, be it marijuana, cocaine, alcohol or tobacco. People should be allowed to use this knowledge to evaluate for themselves what is appropriate.

Solve Drugs problem and eliminate financing the Taliband
written by Steve Alker, August 16, 2008

The reason trotted out by governments of all colours for the last 50 years is that addictive drugs cannot be legalised as this would send out the wrong message and lead to further dependency.

As no-one takes a blind bit of notice about whatever message politicians “Give Out” this is an utterly spurious argument.

Whether it would lead to further experimentation by vulnerable people and further addition is a moot point, but at least we might as well admit that it is currently as easy to buy heroin, cocaine and ecstasy as popping down to the shops, so that the supply of narcotics from violent criminals is not a measurable disincentive to anyone.

Legalising narcotics could at a stroke remove the profits from the dealers, depriving them of the money with which to buy machine pistols and carry out organised violence. Buying the opium poppy crop from Afghan farmers at market rates would also inexpensively remove the main source of funding from the Taliban whilst winning “Hearts and Minds” and sourcing adequate quantities of the raw material for making morphine and diamorphine for the world’s medical services (Were you aware that there are periodic shortages of opiate based palliative because more heroin is available in the hospital car park that in the dispensary?)

I’m anti-drugs because I am against killing myself and I am a father, but the fact that my children have to contend with desperate addicts, robbing and mugging to feed a habit makes me think that managing the problem of legally obtainable class A drugs would be preferable to the current failed policy.

If I really wanted to be cynical, whilst showing my dislike of narcotics, I could suggest that we nationalise the supply and manufacture of class A narcotics. Apart from introducing waiting lists for heroin and cocaine, we could appoint an army of bureaucrats to monitor and manage the trade – Anyone got a suggestion for the name of the regulator? My suggestion is Off-Smack

The only thing that worries me is trying to second-guess what the drug-barons will turn to for money if we ruin their trade.

Steve Alker

David Brand
written by David Brand, August 17, 2008

I have heard it suggested that some of the opposition to the legalisation of drugs is financed in some way by drug barons - and that would certainly make economic sense.