No more drugs-related crime [cheer]. An opportunity for taxation [cheer]. The tax will alleviate the negative societal impact of the blighters. [cheer]. No more broken Britain [cheer]. Our brilliant little children (so cute) will be safe from buying a contaminated product [cheer]. Everything is gonna be all right [sigh of relief]
There is a problem. Its not ideological. Its not with the possible values of legalising drugs. Its not even with the lack of any clear causality between legalisation and social improvement. Its much simpler than that, but nobody seems to have thought about it. Its with the physical nature of hard drugs: they are small, discreet, often powders or pills, and extremely powerful for their size.
Why does this matter for legalisation? Well simply that if my brother carelessly spills a bit of his powder on my kitchen table and I make my sandwich on it, not really noticing that its there, I could be in for quite a traumatic midday experience. Of course this is a perfect possibility when drugs are illegal, but I think that with the legalisation of a product comes a carelessness as it mingles with our everyday affairs. Theoretically this could take place anywhere. I put my hand on a bar laced with cocaine and rub my eyes, nose or mouth. I take a pill from the cupboard thinking its a painkiller, only its not.
The simple point is that if drugs are legal they will be carried around and stored like any other legal product, and sometimes people make mistakes with these things. Drugs are so powerful, however, that the effects of these mistakes will be amplified to the point of the absurd. The accidental ingestion of a class A drug can’t be a nice experience and it seems common sense that this is bound to happen.
I don’t really believe that we can legalise drugs, simply because as they integrate with our normal lives in the same way as other legal drugs - in our purses, in our pockets, on the kitchen side, in our cabinets, in our bars, cafes, clubs etc. - mistakes will happen. And with something so small and powerful, the residue of which could find its way onto almost anything, the effects could be devastating.
Recent Comments