Problematic Tail Wagging Policy For The Recreational Dog

The Drugs Policies Don’t Work - Letting The Problematic Tail Wag The Recreational Dog!

WillonaWednesday

Yet another report released today is telling us that the criminal justice-led policies at the forefront of the so-called war on drugs for so long are having no effect either on supply or demand, meaning that billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money continue to be poured down the drain with nothing to show for it. Well, what a surprise!

For 40 odd years successive governments have clung to the belief that drug-taking is immoral and must be regarded primarily as a criminal justice issue despite the undeniable fact that throughout all this time drug use has increased, drugs are increasingly available and cheaper and usage begins at an increasingly earlier age. All of which demonstrates clearly that the policies don’t work, yet, just like some frazzled old junkie, our politicians stubbornly cling to the view that just one more fix of the same measure and everything will be alright. Will we ever get a government brave enough to recognise two fundamental truths? Firstly, the refusal to recognise the key distinction between recreational and problematic use and that drug use, drug abuse and drug misuse are not interchangeable synonyms, can only hamper any sensible drug strategy and secondly, the provision of drug education in this country is a miserable, ineffectual failure.

When it came to alcohol, the reasoning behind the recent relaxation of licensing laws was a recognition that the prevailing law was outmoded and that the problems caused by a minority of problematic drinkers should not dictate overall policy and its impact on responsible, recreational consumers who were believed to be in the majority. The fact that these provisions have not proved to be the spectacular success that was hoped for and the various health and social problems, as well as the crime generated by alcohol are increasingly evident is because these issues are a function of complex, deep-seated cultural factors which the law alone is incapable of addressing. Such matters must be responded to primarily via a responsible and honest education system and it must be accepted that this would be a long-term project - the idea that Britain could be transformed, almost overnight, into a European-style café society is obviously ludicrous. However, the distinction between problematic and recreational use and the recognition that the problematic tail should not wag the recreational dog is laudable - why then cannot the same distinction and recognition be made in respect of drugs?

While it is impossible to gauge with any great accuracy the extent of drug use in Britain, it can be said that it constitutes a multi-million pound market and that millions of people take drugs regularly up and down the country. The focus is almost exclusively on the problems attributed to drug use creating an implicit assumption that all drug taking is problematic thus denying not only the possibility, but the probability, that most of this use is recreational and non-problematic - the problematic tail therefore wags the recreational dog. All drug users are then reliant on a completely unregulated black market controlled by criminals with no provision for quality of product and are exposed to the vagaries of a criminal justice system which tends to view drug taking as evidence of some moral turpitude, while our children are denied access to honest, objective information about drugs which includes the fact that drugs can be a source of fun and pleasure as well as potentially dangerous.

Yes, drugs can create enormous problems including crime, ill-health and death with all the associated misery for families and communities which frequently dominate the headlines and none more so than heroin yet arguably no drug is more misunderstood than heroin. I have little doubt that most people would be staggered to learn that heroin when it is pure and administered in a safe environment is actually a benign substance - it does not attack and damage the body’s vital organs, brain, liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, in the way that other drugs, including alcohol do. In fact, constipation and a lowering of libido are likely to be the principal side effects of safely administered clean heroin and it is commonly used by medical professionals because of its efficacy in managing pain. The big problem with heroin is its addictiveness which can quite literally enslave an addict particularly one who is reliant on a ruthless black market which is where the problems we have become accustomed to begin to arise. It is not the drug itself which generates the problems, but the lifestyle that comes with black market dependence - the adulterated product, the hazardous consumption methods, the association with criminals and the desperation.

The notion of providing prescribed heroin to entrenched addicts and ensuring its safe administration is usually associated with woolly headed liberals, but we should remember that Switzerland, not a country known for its left-liberal politics, successfully implemented a heroin prescription programme and when invited to vote on its continuation, its people, not known for their left-liberal views, voted in favour by a 70% majority because it was effective in reducing crime and it saved taxpayers’ money. And the Swiss government got the idea from us following the model of Dr. John Marks’ Merseyside clinics in the late 1980s which Michael Howard closed down despite their success when he became home secretary (arguably one of the worst in history) because he felt it was morally wrong!!

Finally, a last thought to the right wingers who can’t see past the end of their right wing hooters, which of the following two scenarios would you prefer:

1. You’re walking down the road minding your own business when someone comes up behind you, knocks you down, steals your ipod, wallet, cash, phone, jewellery then gives you a good kicking all because they need money to buy some black market heroin.

2. You’re walking down the same road, still minding your business when the same person comes up behind you, but walks straight past you because they’re on their way to a clinic to get clean, safely administered heroin before going about their crime-free day.

Think about it next time you’re walking down the road minding your own business!

Will