We Need a Sensible Drugs Policy

In the UK we have a problem, there is a massive drugs epidemic, and these vile substances plague our streets with crime and corruption. Despite consecutive government’s throwing money at the problem we still have 22% of young people who admit to using illegal drugs and 10% of the overall population. This equates to the government spending a staggering between 1998 and 2008 it is said to have cost the economy £110 billion (figures vary from estimate to estimate), in 2002 this cost was £16 billion, these figures do not include smoking and alcohol misuse. With current economic restraints, this cost is no longer viable if we want to maintain our current social welfare policies.

What I propose is radical, however it is not a new idea, it saddens me that I have compromised my principles to consider this as an idea however I truly think it would be beneficial to the state as a whole. I would like to say I in no way advocate the use of illegal narcotics, and if I truly thought there was any other alternative I would not be about to advocate the legalisation of drugs. Before, a mod decides to demote this thread to a cyber waste bin, read what I have to say, I am not talking about blindly legalising all drugs.

My first proposal is to abolish to out of date Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) (MDA) and replace it with a new piece of social legislation, which covers all non-prescription recreation drugs, including tobacco, alcohol, and drugs currently outlawed under MDA. We will call it the Social Drugs Act (SDA) for the purposes of this thread.

The reason for including tobacco and alcohol in my new SDA is because they are just as harmful if not more so as some drugs that are currently outlawed under MDA. For example tobacco kills more people that almost all other illegal drugs combined in the UK. Therefore I would set up special off licences stores, whose sole purpose is to sell, alcohol, tobacco, and selected legal highs. I would implement a minimum age of 21 on all of these products (the current is 18), minimum pricing for alcohol set at 50p per unit, and maintain current tobacco taxes (increasing in line with inflation). The legal highs would be taxed in the same way as tobacco products are currently taxed. In addition to this I would also put it into law that there be a maximum volume any customer can buy at any time. There would also be a system built into the law limiting the number of these stores in any particular area. It would also become illegal for supermarkets to sell tobacco, legal highs or alcohol over 30% strength.

The type of legal highs I am talking about would include Marijuana (and many of its derivatives including cannabis), other class B and C drugs would be included. Baring in mind these drugs would only be legal for persons over 21, available at selected stores and taxed. This would take the control away from criminal organisations and give the government complete control over the supply chain whist boosting tax revenues. For any drug to pass for sale at any of these stores it would first have to be passed by the home office. This would ensure that these stores cannot start selling new dangerous highs and the government remains in control.

For the more dangerous Class A drugs I would under SDA introduce a new program of social drugs rehabilitation. This would work by allowing doctors to prescribe heroin addicts with heroin, with the idea being to slowing decrease the dosage and bring them off heroin (or any other drug). This would help reduce the supply in the criminal fraternity and reduce its effectiveness by removing their customer base and maintain the health of the addicted individual. To complement this policy I also think a 3 strikes and you’re out system for people who persistently rebound onto drugs, after 3 shots just send them to prison. This would prevent people just using the NHS to get their high and taking advantage

As for the scum drug dealer, I propose a minimum 3 to life jail term for those who are caught supplying drugs. The money generated from the new increased tax revenue should go directly into fighting drug crime and increasing prison places.

I know this Idea is probably not new, it might be controversial and the sad truth is that no politician is ever going to have to guts to adopt any proposal like mine. I also know it’s not perfect, it would not work over night and it would definitely not completely abolish the illegal drugs. I do however believe that it would significantly reduce it and prove to both safe and generate money in the long term for the state. I would very much appreciate anyone who has any ideas they would like to add to this. Just please don’t start debating if drugs are good or bad for you, that’s not what this thread is about.

The current view on drugs by the populace is: they fry your brains and they are all addictive and harmful to your body. This shows just how under educated the average joe on this subject. This also shows how much fear is controlling the prohibition of mind activating substances.

The truth is, if given enough respect and education, drugs would be extremely beneficial to society. I believe one day they will be legal, and alongside that receive the respect they deserve.

I see a whole new type of food emerging in the next few hundred years. Psychoactive fish, chicken, rice, you name it will dominate the upper class restaraunts.



[edit on 22-8-2010 by sliceNodice]

reply to post by sliceNodice


I think you might be misunderstanding my thread, I in no way think drugs are a good thing, DRUGS ARE BAD.Some are better than others, but on the whole they are bad for you.I do however think we need to change our current drugs policy needs to drastically change to get people of drugs. I recognise that for most drugs it is impossible to eradicate them so i think it is better to legalise some but with very strong regulation.

[edit on 22-8-2010 by kevinunknown]

yeah about the drugs policy i tottaly agree with you, i tried on many ocasions to make arguments but folk here dont want to know.
If they knew what your brain can achieve once on magic mushrooms or '___' and understand whats going on around us then you can understand why the gouvernment doesnt want you to get high!!! You can start working things out that normal people could never achieve that level of mental power
Edit:- people should find out how DNA was really discovered.
yes only through the power of '___' can your brain work on levels that normal humans could never achieve!!


[edit on 22-8-2010 by outcrysoundsystem]

reply to post by outcrysoundsystem


I can already tell I am going to have to repeat this quite a bit,

I do not think drugs are in anyway a good thing, this thread is not about if drugs are good or bad. it’s discussing the possibility of new legislation in light of the drugs epidemic in the UK.

sory i should be more clear
drugs MUST be legalized and controlled like far worse drugs already avalable (ciggies + Buckfast)
i dont think they we will ever be seeing them legalising drugs as the governemt is firing their drugs advisers for telling the truth.
If they do ill be the first in line.

Originally posted by kevinunknown
I think you might be misunderstanding my thread, I in no way think drugs are a good thing, DRUGS ARE BAD.Some are better than others, but on the whole they are bad for you.

I understand the point your making and think your proposed policy would still be a hell of a lot better than the status quo... but I must say this: If you believe ALL drugs are "bad" -- including cannabis and hallucinogens -- and that they have no beneficial purposes; than unfortunately I'd have to say that your part of the bigger problem.

Actually doing some solid research on the subjects you plan on making policies for would go a long way in denying your own, and others ignorance.

Adults can decide for themselves the substances they wish to enjoy and as such I think there should be NO regulation of any social/psychoative drug!

The only caveat I would suggest is that ANYONE found supplying or intoxicating a minor with mind altering substances, whether for profit or otherwise, be subject to life imprisonment with no chance of parole.

The human brain is the last organ to complete maturation at about 23, therefore for the purpose of the caveat, a minor is a person aged under 24 years of age.

De-regulation will create a whole new class of black-market unemployment!

a sensible drug policy huh???
well that's simple

disband the CIA, MI5, FGB, etc ...
u know, all the agencies who
bring the illegal drugs into the country
legally under guise of national security.



these covert agencies with rogue agents
are the biggest pushers of dope on the planet.

When the gov gives u a get out of jail free
card, it's hard as hell not to abuse it.

I would be all for the legalization of all substances not synthesized in a lab.

Meaning: Marijuana, mushrooms, coca leaves, and yes, poppies.

Processing into substances beyond that, (coc aine, crack, heroin) would in my opinion, be the crime. (possession would not)

People should not have their lives legislated to the point of making plants illegal.

reply to post by Dogdish


AH, hello, somebody i can talk to at last lol.

That is an intriguing idea, I understand how it could work but what about people who are importing the synthesised stuff, so we would still have the problem. Also how would you regulate this, for example if you said that possession is not a crime but only synthesising is, what about the people who deal in synthesised narcotics.

reply to post by kevinunknown


Yeah, that busts my theory... I wonder how long they would stay in business? I know there are always those that would have to have whatever they get that comes from a crack pipe. '___' from a dropper may be safer than from a mushroom, too.

I'm not an 'addictive personality', so I really can't understand addiction. If there were clinics that could distribute the synthesized stuff, maybe the addicts could be weaned.
It's my understanding that the "un-synthesized" versions are not addictive. If that were true, maybe there's a more reasonable way to 'reform' the addicts.
Methadone clinics, the way it seems, (I drove a cab in Atlantic City for a few years) are a joke. I wonder if the real stuff were available, there would be a chance to wean people off the more 'concentrated' forms of the real thing.

I wonder how long they would stay in business?

The problem in the UK is that drug policy is decided by the Daily Mail and Sun readers, we have had so many moral panics about drugs, from Leah Betts to M Kat (meow meow), these papers have a field day over scarring middle class parents over the dangers of drugs (which is even worse knowing that most Journalists are no angels when it comes to the consumption of drugs).

It's a tough debate, but it needs to be had in the UK. People arn't going to stop taking illegal drugs. the best we can hope for is more education more money spent on rehabilitation. Maybe if the government controlled and taxed drugs, things could improve

[edit on 22-8-2010 by woodwardjnr]

reply to post by woodwardjnr


I've been debating on making a thread on this very subject, of how it was done in the '80's, here in the US... by twisting the arms and minds of women in Texas, of all places.
Maybe I'll be less busy/lazy soon, but yes, that is how it is done.

reply to post by kevinunknown


"The type of legal highs I am talking about would include Marijuana (and many of its derivatives including cannabis), other class B and C drugs would be included."

See, this is your problem. I don't think you understand the things that you want to regulate. Drugs are not bad, drugs are good! Drugs are medicine, drugs are food! Healthy use of any drug can bring enormous benefits to the user, but abuse of any drug can bring the opposite effect.

It is insensible to make a drug policy without understanding the positive effects of the drugs in question.

edit: clarification; in the context of drugs, cannabis and marijuana are the same thing, one is not a derivative of the other

[edit on 22-8-2010 by SmedleyBurlap]

Yeah, something needs to be done about the missuse of drugs act, because the whole thing is just a joke. People are going to take drugs no matter what. The bad thing is that quite a lot of young people seem to be taking these new reseach chemicals/legal highs that are around nowadays, because of the illegality of party drugs, ie mdma etc. They don't want to go to jail for a victimless crime

You can buy these legal highs from, I presume, not licensed shops, or even off the internet. No one knows fully the short term defects of these new drugs, never mind the long term effects

I think we should take an approach similar to The Netherlands or Portugal, and treat them, like you said as a health issue and not as a criminal one. People are going to become a lot more ill if they go out to a rave etc and take some pills that have been contaminated with x, y, z other drugs

reply to post by kevinunknown


Well we either find a new way to deal with this problem or we forever give more and more public money to building more and more prisons.

The UK already has the highest imprisoned population in Western Europe and the second highest in the G8 (we are only just behind the US per 100,000 population). 60% of our prison population is due to drug's offences.

Enough, as Ken Clarke has clearly stated, it is time to bring some sense to our "lock em up" policy. The first step is sensible drug laws. Now suggest this to Daily Mail readers and watch as they go totally ape sh*t...

One of my favorite comedians, lived such a short life. =(