Legalisation of Purchase, Possession and Consumption of all Class A, B and C Drugs
‘It is every parent’s nightmare. A youngster slithers inexorably from
a few puffs on a joint, to a snort of cocaine, to the needle and
addiction.’ In modern society, in the developed world, it has been
drilled into the minds of middleclass youngsters that drugs are bad
for you. A taboo has formed around the issue, raising curiousity. This
curiousity, combined with an idea of rebelling against rules has led
many people to illegal drugs (not to mention various individual
reasons for resorting to illegal drug taking). For many, drugs have
become the forbidden fruit. For many others, the supply of forbidden
fruit can be extrememly profitable. For the majority, this ‘business’
can cause serious harm to society.
Many say that prohibition of drugs isn’t working. Even with it being
illegal, it is still very accessible, and hence drug trade continues.
On the other hand, it is still less accessible than what it would have
been if they were to be legalised and, say for example, placed on
supermarket shelves. Legalisation has come to be seen by some as a
symbol of a frightening laissez-faire society where drugs are cheap
and easily available to anyone, with the result that drug use and the
harms that are attendant on it are rampant. However, legalisation is
not a risk-free policy: it is not a way to make drugs safe. But
because it causes different types of harms from those that result from
a policy of prohibition, it is possible that it will cause less harm.
Most users enjoy taking drugs i.e. this is consumer surplus. They are
prepared to pay more than the actual price to ‘get high’. This also
suggests that the illegal drug market is fairly price inelastic for
demand. After legalisation, drugs may become relatively more readily
available, and the prices that they would have to pay may well fall
(as there is no criminal organisation trying to make a healthy profit
to fund terrorist activity in Afghanistan… etc.