Vito,
I agree that there is no easy answer to the problem and there are many pitfalls and gotcha's along the way which would have to be thought through thoroughly.
One thing for sure though is that our current strategy is losing the war on dugs rapidly and something drastic has to be done to halt its progression.
I suspect the stigma around drugs and the penalties for use or possession are what stops many of us from attempting to try or use them.
I dont believe this for a second... in fact I would go as far as to say, that the old addage "rules are meant to be broken", positively encourages mischevous teenagers to sample.
Making it available from pharmacies in order to make it both sterile and quality controlled could bring in a new market of people who would want to try drugs. If they keep using them we could start a new wave of addiction and drug related deaths.
I wouldn't advocate chemists being involved - they would need to be specialised clinics. The clinics would only administer drugs to those that have tested positive to a dependency therefore no new market would arise. Those wannabe experimenting drug users find it increasingly harder to find dealers from which to purchase as not only would it not be lucretive enough for the dealers but it would also be much harder for them to purchase from the manufacturers themselves.
Would a columbian drug barron bother to take an expensive gamble ilegally shipping relatively small quantities into the country when he can legitimately deal direct with governments? Quite simply, Street dealers will have no supply chain, nor the volume of customers to make it pay.
I could however, be wrong. But it does seem however, that with wider use of drugs, there would be more long term health repercussions.
I do not think this would encourage wider usage.
Now Alchohol is legal, but many people are suffering serious health problems because of the current upward trend in consumption amongst young people.
I worry that legalising Heroin could have similar repercussions.
Yes, but Alchohol isnt administered under controlled conditions - more of a free for all. Besides which, the alchohol issues we have in the UK stem mostly from our draconian licencing laws and prudish attitude towards alchohol we instill in our children - unlike other coutries in europe. Look at prohibition in the US... didnt that cause exactly the same kind of racketeering and smuggling that we find ourselves fighting now?
I have never said we should legalise it. Its consumption would take place in the confines of a clinic - not on the street.
Let's not forget, Heroin (an opiate), is a very bad substance to be injecting regularly into your body. I sometimes have to take morphine for my arthritis, but then I do have to go for regular blood checks to make sure nothing untoward is happening. It seems we could be letting ourselves in for a large programme of monitoring and treatment.
I am sorry but you are factually wrong on this. Of all the hard drugs, Heroine is the only one that isnt in itself bad for you. The only reason why Heroine addicts look so rough is because they cant afford to feed or look after themselves. If you can afford ones habit then you can live a perfectly normal long lasting life with no-one even being aware of your usage. (Like many of our forefathers) The reason why you go for checkups is not because the morphine is doing harm (if it was, they wouldnt give it to you), its just that the morphine is dumbing your senses so if you did have a serious condition, the morphine blocks the pain that you would normally feel and thus prevent you from doing the normal thing of going to the doctor to see whats wrong.
I do think we do need some form of more realistic response to drug use. Yes, make hard drugs available on perscription, but then I would want to see all dealers outside the state scheme subjected to a mandatory (serve minimum 30 years) life sentence. And all addicts required to submit to some form of registration scheme.
Drugs *can't* be given out on prescription as they would find their way back out onto the street. Onsite consumtion in clinics is a must. All those in receipt of drugs must test positive to a dependency and the only drugs that would be administered would be class A drugs that cause the problem (Heroine, Crack & Cocaine). I agree that very tough sentences for street dealers must be used for the system to work effectively. The key to the whole matter is to make dealing not a worlthwhile business proposition.
What ever happens its not going to be any easy problem to solve.
Yes your right, but realistically, can it get much worse in the inner cities than the situation we are in now now?
