There are of course those out here who object to people doing as they wish - against the wishes of those doing the objecting. The rest of us are only worried about the effects of people following their own path upon our lives. The externalities of their actions, that fist swinging to hit our nose or not.

At which point this is a thoroughly good idea:

Police will give free heroin to addicts in a controversial bid to cut drug-related crime, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Durham Constabulary is the first force in the country to draw up detailed plans for the Class A drug to be handed to long-term users.

In an exclusive interview, Chief Constable Mike Barton told this newspaper that police money will be used to supply heroin to addicts to inject themselves twice a day in a supervised ‘shooting gallery’.

The force – rated the best in the country by watchdogs last week – will fund the programme from its already stretched budget.

Mr Barton admits the plan will attract criticism but insists it will reduce crime because the addicts will no longer have to steal to pay for their fix, and dealers will lose customers.

We have been saying this ourselves for a number of years now. The problem with drugs is not people getting high - their life to waste after all. It's the effects upon the rest of us of the illegality of their getting high. The disease spread by unclean equipment, the vast costs of the illegally trafficked drugs themselves, the crimes committed to pay for them.

Short-circuit that entire system by just giving the addicts the drugs. Pharmaceutically pure heroin is in fact rather cheap - rather cheaper than having police officers go out to investigate a rash of low level burglaries in fact.

We approve, mightily.