The idea
Remove the prohibition on drugs, this would allow for the government to quality control as well as make sure it doesn’t become easily available to children.
I don't know exactly how much it costs to search and penalise drug users and dealers, the figures I found estimate it to be around £500million per year.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2009/09/03/fresh-thinking-on-the-war-on-drugs/
The people arrested would then need to be imprisoned, this can add to the annual cost of the prison services as well as contribute towards prisons becoming overcrowded. Fewer prisons would need to be made, this saving further money for the country and more space available for homes/buildings.
Like alcohol it would need to be regulated and only licenced premises would be entitled to sell the product, depending on the drug to how much can be sold to an individual during a time period. Like alcohol, if the supplier feels that the person has bought too much for his own health then they would politely refuse the sale. Also like paracetamol, there can be restrictions on the amount purchased in one sale.
The prohibition helps to artificially inflate the price of the product; this can help fund illegal activities due to the profit that comes with products being sold in the 'black market'.
Without the prohibition the price of the product could be reduced, the reduction of the price would result in lower profits for the 'black market traders', thus removing a lot of traders who use it purely for a 'cash crop'.
As previously mentioned, the quality control can be implemented so that drugs would be less dangerous due to harmful substances included to pack out the weight.
Due to it being sold via legal regulated methods, the sales person should check to make sure it does not get into the hands of minors who are going through physiological maturity.
This would also fit into the scheme of more freedom for the individual who can purchase the product legally to consume; it should be only 'adults' who can purchase it and adults should be allowed the freedom to choose what they like to do to their own bodies.
If it was also legalised there can be tax added onto the product, this can equate to a very large figure annually.
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/dutch-high-tech-success-against-soft-drugs
The site makes reference to 'soft drugs' being sold in Holland making an annual profit of 2 billion euros; this can be increased in the UK by including a larger scale of drugs, including 'hard drugs'.
We would need expert advice on how to distribute the products so it is easily available but not in open view of minors who can be easily persuaded by peer pressure.
The production of these products would also need to be regulated like current pharmasies regulate current legal drugs, which would include health warnings and guidelines of usage. Also the health and safty of the work place (place of production) would also ensure the safty of equipment used, reducing further risk to people not involved.
Due to a possable increase in health cost, part of the the profit from these products can go towards the medical care. This can also include help and advise on how to give up the addiction, like smokers can get help from there local GP.
Why is it important?
- Saves the country and tax payer several hundred million a year.
- Potential boost to the ecomony.
- Regulations to stop minors getting hold of the product.
- Gives people more freedom.
- Reduces the ammount of people crimanalised.
- Reduses the ammount of people being sent to prison, thus saving room for real criminals.
- Reduses the price of the product, thus potentially reduses the crime that people commit in order to fund there 'illegal' habbit.
- Reduces the ammount of 'illegal funding', i.e towards terrorist acts and trafficing of people, etc.
- By decrimanlising these products the goverment will be able to get more accurate data on the users and how to best help.