| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Time for a re-think on drugs law ? | |
| Posted by: | Colin Potter | |
| Date/Time: | 29/09/13 20:14:00 |
| When cannabis was reclassified from B to C, I read the government report. If you saw the media at the time you would have thought the report was only about cannabis. Only about 5% of the report was about cannabis, the rest was about other drugs, rehabilitation and the world view on drugs. The few bits I remember from the report are that people who regularly smoke cannabis and drive regularly are generally better drivers than everyone else. The report also mentioned an experiment with Heroin users. They identified the worst users in a small area who used petty crime to fund their addiction and gave them Heroin under controlled conditions. Not only was there a huge reduction in crime, it cost less to give away the Heroin than it would of cost to deal with the petty crime they would have committed. A few of the users no longer had the need to spend the whole day trying to get their fix, so went and got jobs. The report also highlighted the Amsterdam Problem. The Dutch people don't have a drug problem they have been educated, but Holland does which has been caused by the drug tourists. They suggested they way to deal with this was not to prevent people going there, but to adopt the same laws in every country to stop people going there. For that to work a majority of countries would have to change the law at the same time, if just one country does they are likely to create another Amsterdam Problem. Personally I think it is time we gave up with the arguments about the rights and wrongs of drugs, I think everyone would agree that misuse of any substance is bad for you. I think we need to think about the revenues that government could make by legalising them, they might be able to raise enough so they don't need councils to put up cameras and fine people for driving 20 meters in a bus lane or stopping in a bus stop for 7 seconds. |