In his Talking Point of December 22, Should Drugs Be Legalised?,Mario Saliba asks the question but does not even attempt to answer it. Still, there is no reason for such reluctance as there is lots of experience with legal drugs as well as with the decriminalisation of illegal drug use and the impact on the affected societies can be analysed.
As the most used drugs in the western world are caffeine, alcohol and tobacco, all perfectly legal, a more correct title for Mr Saliba’s article would have been Should More Drugs Be Legalised? and I trust the following analysis will show this should indeed be the case.
Interesting insight is provided by the episode of Prohibition in the United States, which made alcohol a prohibited drug. The only tangible result was the birth of the Mafia, made famous by Al Capone, while alcohol consumption did not develop much differently from other countries where no such drastic measure was taken. After the Prohibition was lifted, there was no big rise in alcohol abuse either. However, the Mafia, now established, lived on.
An example of a very effective way to limit drug use is the educational campaign that led to the greatly reduced incidence of smoking, all without any kind of prohibition other than selling to young children.
On the other hand, the lifting of the legal alcohol drinking age from 18 to 21 in the United States has not led to substantially less alcohol consumption by that age group but has made criminals of most otherwise law-abiding citizens. In addition, it may well have stimulated drinking, because of the lure of the forbidden fruit, and even binge drinking, because it inhibits the teaching of responsible drinking.
The main problems associated with illegal drugs are not with the impact their use has on society but with the impact that the criminal and terrorist organisations that provide them have on society. Uncontrollable corruption and violence as we see in Mexico and Brazil, financing of terrorist activity as in Colombia and Afghanistan among others, and propping up of unsavory regimes like in Burma (Myanmar) are much more important than the damage associated with use. In addition, all the money that now goes to these criminal and terrorist organisations plus the money spent in fighting them could flow into the government coffers and more than pay for the treatment of drug abusers, like alcohol and tobacco taxes more than pay for the treatment of legal drug abusers.
In assessing the impact of drug use on society we have to distinguish between different drugs. The main ones are cannabis, pills (ecstasy, etc.), cocaine and heroin. The impact of cannabis use on the user and society seems to be very limited. In the opinion of most experts it is no more and possibly less harmful and addictive than alcohol and/or tobacco. Pills and cocaine do not seem to be very addictive either. Heroin is definitely very addictive and harmful to the user but because that is a well known fact the number of users is very small, limiting the impact on society.
The arguments in favour of legalisation (and regulation) of presently illegal drugs like elimination of the criminal element, reduced harm because of quality control, better use of law enforcement resources, unburdening the legal system and respect for the citizenry are very strong and should be carefully considered.
The argument of the opponents of legalisation is it will lead to an upsurge in drug use with undesirable effects on society like more accidents, reduced productivity and higher medical costs. This is not borne out by empirical evidence but has strong supporters. The most vehement opponents of legalisation of drugs are the criminal/terrorist organisations that provide them now. They have the greatest incentive to fulminate against legalisation and support those who are against it out of moral considerations.
Although complete legalisation of all drugs, combined with appropriate regulation of distribution and access as well as with a well-designed educational campaign about the real risks of the use of different drugs, would be the best way forward, it is unrealistic to expect that to happen soon. Therefore, it is best to push for small improvements, the most urgent being the decriminalisation of drug use and the treatment of those addicted as patients that need help. Heroin maintenance programmes as mentioned in the letter by Robert Sharpe (The Sunday Times, December 26) should be supported and the ideas of George Grech (The Times, December 16) should be implemented. Next we can start legalising more drugs starting with cannabis.