Hopeful signs in drug policy

I’ve got into a lot of disputes with friends because of my belief that legalising all drugs is the best way to deal with the world’s drug-related problems. But, ever since I met Jack Cole, a former undercover cop responsible for countless drug busts and now a leading campaigner against drug prohibition, I’ve held firm to the belief that it’s not drugs per se that cause the bulk of the problems, but the black market industry surrounding them and the enforcement of laws that target an impossible-to-suppress demand.

Now there are signs that way of thinking is starting to get a foothold in drug policy. Obama has just appointed a drug czar  (the dude on the right who isn’t Joe Biden) who has promised to focus on treatment rather than jail for addicts, and the administration is moving towards curbing demand and mitigating the health effects of drug addiction rather than trying to cut supply altogether.

Since its invention by Richard Nixon 40 years ago, the so-called War on Drugs has been a massive failure (unless you count more drugs, cheaper drugs, more addictions, 1.5 million annual drug arrests, rampant gang violence and killings, and $US40 billion a year as a victory). So it’s not a bad time for a new approach.

People (hi, Mum!) get nervous when I talk about legalising all drugs. But it’s really not such a radical idea. We seem to be okay with legal booze and cigarettes, even though they’re arguably just as dangerous as, or more dangerous than, most drugs (and in fact, are drugs). 

And listen to what The Economist — hardly known for its firebrand politics — has to say in its editorial from last week (‘How to stop the drug wars: Prohibition has failed; legalisation is the least bad solution‘):

Legalisation would not only drive away the gangsters; it would transform drugs from a law-and-order problem into a public-health problem, which is how they ought to be treated. Governments would tax and regulate the drug trade, and use the funds raised (and the billions saved on law-enforcement) to educate the public about the risks of drug-taking and to treat addiction.

Like booze, cigarettes, and sex, drugs are always going to be popular and desirable. If you ask me, they’re stupid things to put in your body, but then, I’m slowly poisoning my liver with alcohol every weekend, so I can’t really talk.

In the meantime, I might just have a drink to celebrate this new drug direction.

Update: I hadn’t read Boing Boing before I wrote this post, but look over there, too. 

Australia won’t know what’s hit it

Those who know me well know I will never relent. Not when it comes to Australians.

Pity them.