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Bob Ainsworth has said that he thinks all drugs should be legalised, in order to take away the hold the criminal factions have on the industry.
On the face of it – fair enough. it could be regulated, monitored even taxed. The dealers out of business and the quality control would be good.But we also have to consider why they are illegal in the first place. Many of them are instantly addictive, which is not a good thing, and the impact of overdose. The reason they started getting banned was through public health issues.
Many crimes are drug related, but that is to fund the habit, if the state becomes the dealer, will that take away the funding problem? I can’t see why.
But you could argue the law has gone too far, cannabis is an interesting example. Maybe there is some argument that all drugs should be reviewed and greater freedom allowed, or at least personal responsibility. But come down really heavy on the really bad stuff.
At this point I don’t know – I know Bob was keen to say that he probably hasn’t got through all the ramifications of his idea, but I do think it should be explored. What exactly is the Anti-Drug stance there to achieve?
Thoughts?
Related Articles
- Ex-Defence Sec Ainsworth: Legalise Drugs (news.sky.com)
- Former Labour minister calls for drugs legalisation (newstatesman.com)
- Bob Ainsworth criticised as ‘irresponsible’ after declaring: ‘Decriminalise ALL drugs’ (dailymail.co.uk)
- All drugs should be legalised to beat dealers, says former minister (independent.co.uk)
