
After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation (2009) - MrsPeaches
http://www.tdpf.org.uk/resources/publications/after-war-drugs-blueprint-regulation
======
awjr
Prohibition is one of the most pernicious ideas within our society. It enables
people to prey on the weak and vulnerable. Whether we like it or not, people
will seek out chemicals to make their day better, be it chocolate, coffee,
wine, or heroine.

Governments should be recognising this base behaviour and ensure that those
chemicals are available safely and taxed appropriately. Treating drug
addiction as a medical condition and not a criminal activity is the first
step. Something many countries fail to even recognise.

The war on drugs is a complete failure.

~~~
Jizzle

      be it chocolate, coffee, wine, or [heroin]
    
      ensure that those chemicals are available safely and taxed appropriately
    

While I agree that prohibition has proven time and again to be a terrible
thing, I'd also argue that some drugs are so dangerous in small doses that
sale should never be sanctioned. Still, I would not argue in favor of strict
punishments for sale nor use, especially. Issues of sale should come with
punishments similar to improper business practices--tax evasion, fraud, etc--
based on the scope and scale of the transactions.

As you point out, people often seek certain substances because at some level
they feel it will make things better. The improvement they seek may be
proportional to the strength of the substance, meaning those seeking out
street drugs are probably also in the most dire straits. From that
perspective, punishment seems quite cruel--kicking a person when they're
already down.

~~~
GuB-42
Depending on the way drugs are sold, penalties could, and probably should go
as high as involuntary manslaughter.

Dealers often misrepresent what they sell, cutting with toxic chemicals, lying
about purity or even selling an entire different product. With drugs as potent
as opiates, it could mean death. In fact, I think this is the leading cause of
death by drug use.

These practices should be much more penalized than just selling the drug, even
if both are illegal. Just like armed robbery is more severely punished than
shoplifting.

~~~
awjr
I see a need for a government to facilitate access to clean good quality
drugs, taxing them, and providing the support mechanisms to enable people to
come off those drugs.

Portugal is the proving ground for this approach
[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/portugal-
drug-l...](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/portugal-drug-laws-
problems-abuse-decriminalised-results-success-study-cocaine-marijuana-
heroin-a7996896.html)

~~~
GuB-42
Just to emphasize, Portugal didn't legalize any drugs. It decriminalized drug
use and possession. Which mean you are not going to be judged and sent to
prison, but you can still get fined, especially if you refuse the treatments
they suggest. Drug trafficking, defined as possession of more than the average
dose for 10 days is still a crime.

------
adnam
There hasn't been a serious "war on drugs" for over 30 years in the UK. Most
drugs are de-facto legal since the laws are simply not enforced. To say
"prohibition of drugs is a counterproductive failure" is a straw-man, because
there is no enforcement. The laws would probably have been dropped many years
ago were it not for international treaty obligations.

~~~
martinald
Sort of agree for possession but not for supply. People are still getting
longer prison sentences for drug supply than murder.

~~~
adnam
Agreed, but if you don't address the demand problem you can't beat the supply
problem. And that's where we are now.

~~~
krylon
But if you decriminalize it, you can a) save a lot of money in the law
enforcement sector, b) tax it, so you make even more money, both of which
frees up cash to c) spend a lot more on prevention of rehabilitation.

Plus, as long as drug trade remains illegal, you have secondary problems such
as bribery of officials, gang violence.

~~~
MrFantastic
I think prohibition is a money maker for law enforcement due to asset seizure.
The prisons make bank from drug laws.

~~~
krylon
Maybe in the USA, in Europe (and probably other parts of the world, too) it is
a different story.

AFAIK, we do not have anything like asset seizure in Germany. And the prison
system over here is much less privatized / industrialized, so is not exactly a
profit center.

A well-staffed, well-trained law enforcement apparatus is fairly expensive,
too.

And consider that without proper treatment, widespread drug use incurs costs
that do not show up on government budgets as such. Drug-related crime (theft,
burglaries, etc.) comes to mind.

