Father Alexander Lucie-Smith thinks so and has written an article to that effect for The Catholic Herald. He states some truths (as one might expect) and they are, in the main, the fact that we are not winning the war against drugs and many people are dying as a result and that, prohibition doesn't work. No one could argue with those views.
My GP also agrees with him. I don't. Heroin, crack cocaine and even folksy old cannabis all have a lethal effect on the minds and bodies of those that take them.
Up goes the cry: "So does alcohol and smoking cheap cigars" but that is not the case. Alcohol and nicotine are not instantly addictive, indeed, many who consume alcohol never become addicted. Cigarette addiction can be overcome, not easily but I did it so it can't be that hard.
In addition tobacco and alcohol are less harmful in their side effects. Not many alcoholics attack old ladies in order to grab a few pounds in order to buy a bottle of whatever it is they drink.
Fr Lucie-Smith says he believes that legalising drugs would be in line with Catholic Social teaching. Very unsure of that claim. There is not, as far as I can make out, a case for allowing individuals the freedom to ruin their lives and those of their loved ones on the basis that, by allowing such freedom, it would call a halt to the drug cartel murders and tortures.
You see, if we follow the Father's line of thought we should be legalising brothels and letting the abortion clinics get on with their bloody work.
Admittedly, legalising prostitution would put a halt to the activity of pimps and protectors and allow the girls a clear run at earning a crust. And the abortion clinics would be able to cut back on their security regimes, safe in the knowledge that no Catholic is likely to breach the front desk and so on.....except that, it just wouldn't work, especially as far as drugs are concerned.
Firstly, the Government would have to establish discrete centres where addicts could be assessed and prescribed their weekly dosage. You could not allow family surgeries to be overun with wide eyed druggies desperate for their prescription. Security levels would have to be high and the drugs delivered via Securicor. That is going to be costly but then, so is the war against drugs and associated crimes.
But, being realistic, as soon as addict 'A' has collected their allocation, addicts 'B, C and D' are going to be lurking around the corner waiting to mug him and take his stache. Why? Because they either want more than their weekly allocation or, they can sell the drugs to A N Other who desires more than his fair share.
Then there are the dealers who, in order to supply a market above and beyond the NHS one, dilute cocaine and heroin with dangerous but cheap substances in order to increase their profits and the mortality rate.
And then we have the party goers (the acid party goers) who want something a little bit more hallucinatory than boring old coke and heroin and they want it in pill form so that they may be taken as and when required. Some enterprising person is going to be manufacturing these out of refined run of the mill prescription drugs mixed with a bit of fertiliser or whatever it is that renders it lethal to one in 100 of its consumers.
In short, the drugs trade will carry on, albeit in a changed fashion. People will still die from overdoses or dodgy cocktails, dealers will kill dealers over territorial disputes and robberies and killings aimed at providing extra funds to buy extra drugs will still take place.
At source, in Columbia, Afghanistan and other less than healthy spots, the growers will still grow to order, still be robbed by the cartels who, in turn will rob and murder each other because the supply end of things will not change. It will still be a dog eat dog business, supporting other crimes such as prostitution, slave trafficking and terrorism.
I do not have a solution to the drugs issue other than it should not be beyond the whit of man to curtail drug running into an island nation more than is happening at present. We should also implement an effective drug education programme that starts in the primary school sector and carries on throughout the secondary stage. I do not mean one module each week, I mean one every day - it needs to make an impact.
However, I do know that legalising the chemicals that poison personalities and destroys lives would only be aiding and abetting one being.......the one who loves drugs above all other things on Earth - Satan!
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