Legalisation of Purchase, Possession and Consumption of all Class A, B and C Drugs

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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.

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