Political stupidity
Our cities are full of druggies, our media is crammed with notices of young deaths, a segment of our youth are peddling drugs for easy money and parading around in flash gear and souped up cars, the crime rate soars as addicts seek money for a fix, the streets are littered with down an out homeless druggies and alkies, the prisons are packed to the gills with people on drug offences, our education system is undermined by stoned kids, huge amounts of money is flowing into the hands of dubious criminals to fund their activities, great swathes of our youth are having their education and prospects ruined, gangs flourish buoyed up on drug money, violent wars erupt, thousands are murdered down the line in producer countries, the drugs are full of poisons and impurities and cut with killer drugs, the quality and strength is dubious making it a shake of the dice each time, There are significant health risks from unknown drug strengths and impurities, a huge amount of police time is taken up with drug offences, double standards rule as upper class drug use is condoned, the problem is getting bigger by the day – isn’t it about time that the authorities admitted defeat? The war on drugs has been well and truly lost.
All the lies and propaganda over the decades only served to alienate youth. They saw it as lies and did not believe it. Who remembers stupid films like ‘Reefer Madness’? It created a youth rebellion.
If something is labelled dangerous then a group of kids have to prove they are up for it – they are big enough – they can handle it.
Prohibition only fuels use by promoting the allure and daring of it. It adds a mystique.
If only they had looked at drug use as a health issue and not a criminal one we would not have been in this mess.
I say decriminalise.
- Take profits out of the hands of criminals.
- Ensure the quality of drugs that are available.
- Give good health treatment to addicts.
- Take the mystique and ‘naughtiness’ out of the experience.
- Enable drugs to be taxed and use that money for health education and rehabilitation.
- Give accurate drugs information and not propaganda.
- Stop the puritanical imposition of prohibition.
Prohibition has increased drug use. When drugs are made legal then use actually goes down.
Drugs are not really the problem. Recreational drug use on a low level does not cause a great deal of harm. People are the problem. They cannot moderate their use. They take things to excess. They become addicted or use the drugs in poor settings – driving, operating machinery or trying to learn.
The Irony is that two of the most dangerous and addictive drugs are legal – nicotine and alcohol. Some other drugs have no place in any recreational scene. But criminalising their use is counterproductive.
I say decriminalise drug use and treat it as a health problem. The war on drugs is a total failure.
The war on drugs – who lost? We all did.