Legalisation of drug use is an emotive subject and opinions are bound to differ widely. However, that does not mean it should not be debated.

At the moment there is public focus on the issue in the Chapelle Corby case, the ‘Drug Busts’ at the airports and gang wars in Melbourne.

Drugs are one of the great evils of this age and I am by no means a protagonist of their use, but it must be recognised that the current attempts to control this abuse are falling way below the mark.

The amounts seized are minimal compared with the estimates of the quantities entering this country alone. It is a highly profitable business, and the money generated for the crime syndicates far exceeds anything the government is prepared to budget to control it.

It is this imbalance that assures it of a future. It is also the basis for possibly the largest proportion of crime in this country, if not the world, ranging from simple street muggings to high level corruption and murder.It is also a destroyer of lives.
But there is a simple solution. Take the profit out of it!
If drugs were legalised and addicts could get their supply on low-cost prescription from a chemist, overnight there would be an enormous reduction of this associated crime.

If it were decriminalised and seen as a social problem, there could be a cure for both the problem and the user.

Currently drugs are being pushed in school playgrounds and at nightclubs etc., anywhere the young congregate.

As a forbidden fruit it automatically appears attractive to the young people who are seeking thrills or adventure. The later effects are rarely considered, and most take the attitude and believe the myth that ‘You only become addicted if you haven’t got the will power to stop’. Nearly all new entrants to the drug world believe they are immune and do not recognise the dangers.

Without the profits, there would be little or no incentive to ‘push’ the products

Without the profits, there would be little or no incentive to ‘push’ the products, and therefore the usage and new addicts coming onto the market would drop significantly. Certainly, if this were to be implemented worldwide, then cocaine and heroine would be legitimate businesses, generating money for some of the impoverished areas of the world and cutting out the evil influence of the drug barons. Crime statistics would drop substantially and most of the social problems associated with drug abuse would disappear.

We are never going to stop this evil while there is so much profit and money to be made. Initially, if it were to be legalised there would be a bit of a blood rush, but this would quickly subside into a more tolerable usage.

I expect that there is parallel to the legalisation of pornography in the late ‘60s. An immediate rise in interest and the establishment of many new companies and magazines, etc. Thirty years down the track, many of them were struggling to survive and many had gone into liquidation through lack of interest on the part of the public.

Now it is only a minor trade indulged in by the few, with a certain air of social disapproval attached. During that period there was a religious, moral and political war over the matter, but now it isn’t even an issue.

I would expect the same consequences if it were applied to the legalisation of drugs. In earlier times it was legal, and the opium trade with China was seen as completely legitimate. Cocaine was also the basis for a soft drink. However, during that period, drug addiction was not a major problem, and in many cases, alcohol was seen as more of a danger.

Nowadays, this is a far more more serious matter, and declaring it illegal has done as much for its promotion as did Prohibition in America for alcohol and crime, including the entrenchment of the Mafia.

The problem will not go away under the present attempted methods of control. These only scratch the surface, and are rife with corruption. It needs some radical new thinking.
Barnaby Drake:   “Born in London, but educated in India, before returning and graduating in Fine Arts from London and Birmingham. Many productive years in the midlands as a mainframe computer analyst, during which period he invented that great stress reliever - bubble wrap. He subsequently emigrated to South Africa, where he returned to the Arts, making a living as a journalist, photographer and writer. He has also written papers on such diverse subjects as Ancient British archaeology, astrophysics, the human brain, pottery, philosophy and philately, as well as couple of ordinary books. He has since retired to Tasmania, while retaining all his interests, due to his recent marriage, he is now growing roses and fat.”