Nearly all countries have some ban so I doubt full legalization is the answer. I think if you approach it to minimise harm you'd probably have varying policies depending on the drug and the situation. For example cannabis, maybe legalize and tax like cigarettes. Stuff like Heroin and Meth don't legalize private sales but let drug counsellors hand it out to addicts to kill the illegal market, prevent them being harmed by contaminated drugs and stop them breaking and nicking stuff.
"Nearly all countries have some ban so I doubt full legalization is the answer. "
Most countries went with the flow of international pressure, rather than banning as a sovereign decision.
It came to a point in which any country that becomes sufficiently soft on hard drugs is labeled a "narco state", and that's widely considered reasonable grounds for a military invasion! What we're seeing today is the chilling effects of that.
> Stuff like Heroin and Meth don't legalize private sales but let drug counsellors hand it out to addicts to kill the illegal market, prevent them being harmed by contaminated drugs and stop them breaking and nicking stuff.
That's the worst of both worlds. What will happen is a lot of people will become "addicts", get the drug (legally), then sell it to drug dealers to cash out. Criminals will keep their profits high, but they'll decrease their risk (because the government will be a safe and reliable supplier).
It's been tried a few times in reality with Heroin and seems to work ok. Sometimes they make the addicts use it in front to the counsellor to ensure they are not taking it to sell on.
The people who aren't dependent and don't qualify for government provided dope. And there could be a lot of such people: imagine how much less risky a heroin habit sounds when you know that as as an addict you can get free clean drugs reliably, and that it will always be in front of a drug expert.
And it is less risky. I'd support a system that gives I'd more junkies of the junkies aren't destroying their health, aren't stealing, have jobs.
But of you're only allowing heroin use for dependent users in a clinic, you won't destroy the black market. There are still people developing new heroin addictions in Switzerland. And not only new users will use the black market to get heroin. Anyone who wants to use it in their own home, anyone who wants to keep their use secret will have no other choice.
Hassle? Stigma? Hardcore drug addicts will do anything to get their fix. I have known heroin addicts, for example (one was a friend who sadly got sucked into that world). When you're zonked out on heroin most of the time, the way society perceives you is of very, very little consequence.
As another commenter mentioned, I'd imagine a lot of drug trade (maybe not in heroin, but definitely in cocaine) is not hardcore drug addicts, but occasional (or even regular) users who live (relatively) normal lives.
