IMHO by far the greatest damage done by drugs is the fact they are illegal and addicts are treated as criminals rather than medical cases. Legalising drugs would cause many problems, but nowhere near as many as are caused at the moment by their prohibition. For instance by far the majority our boys & girls killed or maimed in Afghanistan are not due to Al-Qaeda or even the political force of the Taliban, but down to drug producers, and the drugs that are then produced travel to UK and kill or harm many others on the way. Yet heroin has been used in cultures for thousands of years for many reasons and in its pure form is no more dangerous to health than any other natural narcotic substance. We waste billions every year stopping adults doing what they want - makes no sense to me - but keeps the press happy as it gives them SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT - ref the recent ridiculous ban on mephedrone, which will almost certainly cause more death and damage than it being illegal.
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