The hold of global, organised crime on the drugs industry will not disappear as a result of wiser policies in a few enlightened countries. So long as large, powerful countries are committed to unworkable policies of prohibition, the illegal drugs industry will be hugely profitable. No policy is without costs and risks. But the hazards of Britain's current drugs regime have become exorbitant. When drugs are illegal their strength and quality cannot be known.
Users can easily overdose - sometimes fatally.
Current policies worsen these evils. The government's reaction to growing public unease about its drug policies has not been encouraging. Their response betrays a touching faith in young people's readiness to heed government advice. In reality, most young people will continue to disregard these warnings. They are going to use drugs, experimentally or for a longer period, whatever people in authority say.