I saw this topic come up via Lolsys Library’s blog, and it was too good a topic to ignore.

There are many laws, right here in the UK, that are unreasonable and unrealistic. I think they serve to prop up power structures, and help the haves to trample the have-nots. Lolsys mentioned the manner in which the rich will frivolously threaten legal action against anyone who criticises their positions, and that is sadly only one example out of many that shows how the rich and wealthy abuse their positions.

For me, the complete legalisation of drugs (yes, I do mean cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and so forth) would cut the legs off the dealers, and those who supply the dealers, denting organised crime in a massive, unrecoverable way. Criminalising everything to do with drugs rarely carries a major impact upon drug barons, but it does make life a lot harder for the people who end up on these substances. Imagine if tomorrow, a user of cocaine, instead of making some kind of risky exchange with an unscrupulous dealer (who might well have supplied a bad batch, so to speak, which is incredibly dangerous) could walk into a shop, ideally attached to a health and help centre, and make a legal purchase, of a product sourced in the UK, meaning none of that money funds organised crime, terrorism, or any other illicit activity.

The cynic in me is fully aware that this becomes a source of revenue. It could raise billions in revenue. Globally, the illegal drugs trade is thought to be worth £9 billion a year (as of 2020), and costs the UK £20 billion. Imagine that money turned around, saved, and used to help fund the NHS. Consider for a moment how much easier it would be to identify addicts, and get them help, whilst also not persecuting them.

I don’t know if people in general are prepared to consider what would be a seismic shift in thinking towards drugs, but I cannot fathom any greater way to hurt the cartels and dealers, whose only interest lies in hurting others.