UKHamlet's Blog

Why has “yours” in the phrase: “yours is no disgrace” no apostophe? After all, it’s possessive. In fact “yours” is the second person possessive pronoun – it replaces “your” plus a noun. The reason some people think it might need an apostrophe is virtually every other word, ‘s indicates possession, so English speakers sometimes think yours should be spelled your’s. However, this is always incorrect – yours is the only correct spelling.

It is perfectly permissable to punch someone in the face if they’re found writing “your’s” and if they add an “e” on the end as in “your’se” you can kill their entire family. I hope that sorts out that little quandary. Next week, we’re going to learn to use “I”, “me” and “you” instead of “myself” and “yourself”, plus we’ll have a general discussion of the argot of the call centre generation and why a split infinitive could mean a split lip.

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.

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