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I've always been of the opinion that it is "misuse" of drugs that kills. Misuse comes about naturally at the moment due to the current black market situation where profit always over-rides concern for the consumer and quality control is non existant.
Regulation of supply and quality would have benefits for the community as a whole for numerous reasons in my opinion. Firstly the actual cost to the community would be absorbed through reasonable levels of taxation applied to the drugs as with any other consumer item. Tobbacco and alcohol are already taxed and these drugs are known killers. I am sitting here legally killing myself with drugs that provide revenue.
The price of heroin, cocaine and amphetamines would be drastically reduced if it was legally manufactured to controlled concentrations and purity even once it was taxed.
The main benefit to the community would be the reduction in theft and violent crime that is currently associatedwith the organised crime aspect of the drug trade. No junkie can provide for his habit through legal means of employment under the current supply situation.
The underlying logic behind my opinion is that no matter what the legality of a drug may be, there are always people who will want to use it, either as a continuous thing or a passing fad. Isn't it more socially responsible to make it as safe as possible for our kids to experiment and hopefully get over the curiosity than to allow them to be exposed to the dangers of unsolicited drug use and possible poisoning or worse still a life of crime to provide for their habit?
Lots of people may think my philosophy is irresponsible, but i have lost friends to drugs and crime and i believe that in a lot of cases this could have been avoided through responsible regulation and control. The ppl i have lost may have just been junkies to the cold hearted anal retentive moralists amongst us, but even they would feel differently if it was their kids and friends dying.
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