It comes from the increasingly widespread use of much harder drugs. By sticking adamantly to prohibitionist policies on recreational drugs the government is not only courting failure. It is aggravating the destructive effects of the drugs culture on public health, social cohesion and the control of crime. Intelligent debate on drugs in Britain has been stymied by the fear of public opinion, with the government exhibiting an almost desperate timidity in addressing the issue. In fact, however, there are many signs that the public is far more sensible than the political classes believe.
Most people know that drug use has become commonplace.
Indeed one of the chief problems faced by many parents in counselling their children is explaining that drugs that are virtually ubiquitous are actually illegal. There are signs too that public discourse has begun to move away from the stereotyped positions of the past. No one aside from a few cranks on the libertarian right argues that there should be a free market in all the drugs that are presently illegal. Common sense suggests that different drugs have different dangers. In a mature society, policy should reflect that fact.