It would be perfectly rational to say that buying and selling it are equally wrong. But that is not what Lady Runciman is saying. I am now coming round to the view that narcotics are not so very different from alcohol, and that they should be treated in the same way by the law. People do terrible things under the influence of alcohol - and there must be a great many more alcoholics than drug addicts in Britain. But very few suggest that alcohol should be banned.
Most adults can drink without getting into fights or smashing up cars.
Some cannot, and those are the ones who should be severely punished by the law - just as anybody who harms others while under the influence of drugs deserves to be penalised. It is right that the sale of alcohol is regulated, and that children are protected from it. But the consumption of alcohol has been a part of civilised life since man first invented wine. Decriminalisation would be the first step towards civilising drug-taking. I am increasingly convinced that Lady Runciman has got it all wrong.