Why we should legalize narcotics

I’m not a drug user – I experimented in the seventies, but lost interest in the eighties and I have a certain amount of sympathy with those who believe cannabis use leads to lethargy and psychological problems. In my view, however, there is mounting and undeniable evidence that continued prohibition of narcotics is causing society more problems than it is solving.

The cost of drug prohibition to society is enormous – from policing the supply and use to the cost of property crime associated with drug use, through the cost of NHS treatment for overdoses, AIDS, hepatitis and so on. If you remove prohibition, regulate the supply and quality, allow prices to fall to a market level low enough to remove the need for additional funding from crime, and offer support from the NHS, you will at a stroke remove:

• The cost of policing drug use and supply
• The cost of crime against the person and their property
• The cost to the NHS
• The criminalisation of people that need help not condemnation
• The opportunity for criminals to control addicts, forcing them into prostitution and other crime

You will also create jobs in a new narcotic supply industry – not just at home, but abroad too – where farmers in poor countries can grow cash crops without fear. We will generate income for the Exchequer through taxation, save lives through quality control, allow the police to focus on “real” crime and disassociate drug use from criminality.

Of course, making drugs readily available will open the door to an increased number of addicts, in the same way that tobacco has become pervasive in society. There’s also evidence to suggest that physical and psychological damage to individuals can be caused by prolonged drug use. What has to be established is whether the risks associated with drug use are greater than the damage done to society and to the victims of prohibition.

There’s also the contention that drug users can’t hold down normal jobs and are therefore forced into criminality to ensure their supply. This is not necessarily the case. A report from academics at Glasgow Caledonian University in 2005, said they had found that it was possible to live a normal life while taking heroin. The researchers said some people could use the drug in a controlled way for an extended period without the health problems normally associated with its use. Those who took part were said to have a higher level of job status and educational achievement than those normally featured in such studies.

My argument is that legalization will get rid of the drug gangs, take a whole class of people out of criminality, protect our most vulnerable members of society, protect our property, reduce crime, provide an income for thousands, give people back their lives and reduce other crime by allowing redirection of law enforcement resources.

This isn’t a panacea, but surely it’s better than a failed policy that has caused more problems than it’s solved.