Drugs should be legalised
Posted on Monday 29th December 2008
Now I know what you’re thinking “Last time he wanted to ban alcohol, now he wants to legalise drugs; has he completely lost the plot?”.
I know this is controversial, but indulge me and I’ll try to explain. As before this rant is inspired by clinical experience. There is a patient currently struggling to stay alive on the ICU with complications of an adverse reaction to intravenous methamphetamine. They have suffered two insults. Firstly a myocardial infaction as a result of coronary vasospasm from the active drug. Secondly development of acute respiratory distress from the bulking agents and particulates in the drug.
Now you might be forgiven for asking why I would legalise drugs in the face of this scenario. Surely they should be even more vigorously suppressed. Rather, I would advocate decriminalisation for the following reasons:
- Clearly the current stance is not working. Illicit drug use is widespread and causes significant cost to society through lost productivity, healthcare and allied services consumption, policing, and crime
- There is no quality control with enormous variability in dose from batch to batch
- The additives and cutting agents used are potentially toxic and antigenic if injected
- Users are loathe to report dubious drugs for fearing of self-incrimination and reprisal
- There is no warranty or guarantee, and no customer services to complain to if the drug is ineffectual, over-effectual or results in adverse reaction
- Illicit drug use funds international criminal organisations leaching money out of effective circulation
So what is the solution. I would suggest governments take on production, supply and regulation of currently illicit use and make them available. Obviously safeguards like age restrictions and user audit would have to be undertaken, and licensing for supply would have to be instituted, but such mechanisms already exist for control of tobacco and alcohol. The advantages are:
- Doses could be standardised and controlled
- Labelling would indicate dose and allow users to avoid inadvertent overdose
- Additives and bulking agents could be chosen for intravenous compatibility
- The criminal associations and networks that currently exist could be effectively quashed without need for costly policing measures.
- Money that would end up in the pockets of the Russian Mafia could instead be used to fund the adverse-event costs that are currently taken out of general taxation
- Some of the stigma of those adverse reactions or inadvertent overdoses could be resolved more easily with impunity
And to answer two arguments before they are made. Firstly won’t this increase drug use? Well drugs are hardly difficult to get hold of at the moment, and I’d be willing to bet that the people who currently use would continue to do so and the people who don’t still wouldn’t. Secondly wouldn’t easier access lead to decreased productivity? Well alcohol is socially destructive and yet many of us manage to control our use despite it being just as addictive as many of the more taboo drugs.
I haven’t even started on the reduction in policing costs from decriminalisation of cannabis, a drug that has a low adverse effect on society (by comparison to many other substances). It is still somewhat ludicrous that it is considered as dangerous and threatening as truly unpleasant substances such as methamphetamine.
Anyway I’ll wrap up here. I know my proposal is by no means a panacea, but the current system is fundamentally flawed, and really needs to be re-evaluated. Agree or disagree? Feel free to sound off below.
I do agree, wholeheartedly. This is not because I think drugs are a good thing (and will people stop quoting the line from Bill Hicks about ‘If you’re anti-drugs, burn your record collection’ – it’s becoming very cliched) but because like you say, drug policies are not working. People clearly learned nothing from prohibition America. Drugs are a Pandora’s Box situation, once they are there, they are there. I am have seen so many lives affcted by drugs, particularly students I teach whose parents are addicts.
The Daily Mail will disagree (but then the Daily Mail is a waste of newsprint). However, I think if people were able to buy drugs legally so that people knew exactly what was in them it would be safer. (In case any person reading this needs it spelled out, you do not get the same strength drug from an illegal drug dealer. Why should you? They are operating outside the law). Every secondary school in the UK has a drugs problem of some description (anyone who disagrees with this is worryingly naive and should not be cleared to work with children). Drugs education needs to be more effective too – scaring kids has been proven not to work.
I do agree with legalising cannabis – I’m not an advocate of using it, however, it’s becoming abundantly clear that there are harmful side effects of the drug which were not made clear. I haven’t drunk in nearly two years; and I stopped smoking in 2002, so I guess if I’m guilty of using any drug it’s caffeine.