In a speech last year, controversial Chief Constable of North Wales Police, Richard Brunstrom, suggested that all hard drugs should be legalised and become available from pharmacies. I agree with him and here I explain why all drugs, whilst evil, should be available on prescription.
Drugs are things that many people have experimented with and they will always be experimented with by those that are curious and keen to try new experiences. Unfortunately, some drugs have such a bad effect on their users that they become almost instantly addictive. This leads to all sorts of problems for society, not least of which is the criminal activities of the addicts who steal and mug to get their “fix”.
Drugs are easily available. A quick trip to your friendly neighbourhood local pub is all you need and provided you know the right person you can get a “teenth of blow”, a “wrap of coke” or an “ecstasy tab”. The people you buy them from them usually seem to be nice respectable people, often the sort you wouldn't mind having as your next door neighbour.
But these people are criminals. The people that supply are criminals. The people that do the “wholesale” supply are criminals.
These criminals are gangs, organised in networks that tolerate no mistakes on the suppliers lower down the chain. They are ruthless and protect their “business” with violence, intimidation and even murder. They don't care who they hurt or how they hurt them. Money is the be all end all of their business. Often these people, at the top of the supply chain, are involved in prostitution, people trafficking and other nefarious and vile activities. Some are even linked to terrorism.
But if hard drugs were legalised, including speed, cocaine, heroin and crystal meth, there would be some very beneficial side effects to society.
Firstly, lets start with the people at the bottom of the chain - the junkie who mugs old ladies and innocent people going about their business and who breaks into people's homes. They do this to get whatever they can to buy their fix. If drugs were legalised, and available free on prescription, the addict would go to their pharmacy to get their fix. There would be no need to rob 86 year old Mrs Jones when she comes out of the Post Office with her pension. There would be no need to break into Mr Smith's house and steal his laptop. There would be no need to go shoplifting in Tesco.
The drugs are available - free of charge. The addict would be far too “cabbaged” to go mugging, house breaking or shoplifting.
A further benefit would be that about half of these people would take up drugs counselling and would actually come off drugs. The “shame” of being a drug addict would be removed and so they would no longer live their lives in the underground but in the open, with a chance of becoming part of wider society.
And then the supplier to the junkie. Remember the respectable bloke that you wouldn't mind for your next neighbour? Except if he's caught he gets a criminal record, loses his wife and family, his house, his job. Probably then takes drugs to counter his depression and becomes a junkie who then goes out mugging old ladies and breaking into houses.
But then there's the people in the supply network above your likeable bloke in the pub. And the people above them. And above them.
They would all become redundant if hard drugs became legal. All the way up to the people that organise this evil trade.
Admittedly, there would still be other “lines” for the organised crime moguls to profit from. However, the people they recruit into certain parts of their networks would no longer be as easily available. We all know that a large number of prostitutes are drug addicts and therefore dependant upon the drug lords - they have to sell their bodies to make money to pay the drug barons for the drugs they depend on.
Again, if these ladies could get their drugs from the local branch of Lloyd's Pharmacy then they would not be dependant upon the drugs barons to provide “protection” for their activities.
The argument here, as I am sure you can guess, is to remove hard drugs away from the criminal element and provide them as a treatment to those that need them. Take the drugs away from the criminals and you take away their customers - and no customers would make their endeavours fruitless.
