From Camilla Cavendish's comment column in today's Times of London:
The most powerful role models are dealers, not celebrities. All over Britain, men in gold jewellery flaunt their wealth at school gates. Teachers tell me how hard it is to convince teenagers to get NVQs, when they can have a career with Drugs Inc and aspire to make £1,000 a day. Drugs Inc is one of the most profitable, successful businesses of all time. The UN values it at about $330 billion, almost as big as the defence industry. The criminals who run Drugs Inc shift staggering amounts of stock with no conventional advertising. They offer free samples to children and discounts for trading up to harder substances. They motivate their salesforce with threats.
De-prohibition won't be cost free. People will still do stupid stuff on drugs. But, taking the criminal element out of what is a personal choice and failing will help alleviate many of the social costs associated with drugs. The personal cost will remain as high as ever, lives will still be ruined, but at least it will cost taxpayers much less, and won't help fund terrorist activities in Asia, South America, and even right here in North America (if you don't think that a the drug cartels in Mexico are terrorists, then you haven't been paying attention, fortunately for us, they mostly only terrorize other Mexicans).
It's interesting to note that the UN is the main culprit in preventing smaller countries like Portugal from pursuing legalization or even greater de-criminalization of 'soft drugs'. The UN seems to do so many things wrong, and so few things right, as an organization it really ought to be dismantled, or defunded and shunned. There needs to be international cooperation between countries, but a corrupt and ideologically rigid body that embraces totalitarian regimes with open arms while chastising free countries isn't the kind of body that the United States or Europe should be supporting.
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