The penalties for drug misuse should be relaxed so that possession of small amounts would no longer be a criminal offence, the government has been urged.

The recommendation comes in a report from the UK Drug Policy Commission, which undertook six years of research.

Its detailed report concludes the UK is wasting much of the £3bn it spends each year on tackling illicit drugs.

The Home Office says drug use is falling and it does not plan to alter its approach.

Thing is though is that people look at drugs with the cultural bias of alcohol. All drugs have their downsides, but alcohol is one of the most socially damaging, so people tend to think of other drugs as being so.

Most of the issues with drugs come from the fact that they're illegal.

Legalising them wouldn't be the answer for the people I've known down the years, they're addicted to the weak stuff as it is. If we're getting all high and mighty these days about alcohol, cigs and food, why introduce a new addiction? IMO.'

Giving drugs to people who believe in the meta situation of what they read in the papers and the likes of X-Factor is not the answer . Well, unless the question is 'How can the coalition distract the public?'

Though will decriminalising that make any difference to them? Those that are addicted will not change.


I certainly would not think of it as that. Decriminalising has been a regular topic for years.

I think decriminalising it would make a difference to them, since their dealers will probably have to move to stronger stuff to stay relevant. The truly paranoid aren't likely to take up government-backed dope

Yes but de criminalising it is not the same as legalising it. If they legalised drugs they could have other problems. Also small amounts would be ignored unless you were a runner. It would target police resources higher up the supply chain. Though lengthy sentences for celebrity druggies might stop it being cool.

Thing is though is that people look at drugs with the cultural bias of alcohol. All drugs have their downsides, but alcohol is one of the most socially damaging, so people tend to think of other drugs as being so.

Most of the issues with drugs come from the fact that they're illegal.

Sorry, that's what happens when you come back to a thread you couldn't reply to in work

I see decriminalising it again as the first step to legalising it for sale (taxing it etc), and I'm assuming the government and police do too... 'Well, it's not illegal in small amounts, why shouldn't everybody have the choice?'. Because even Amsterdam is slowly scaling it back, for one thing?