Should drugs be decriminalised? Yes

doi:10.1136/bmj.39360.489132.AD

BMJ 2007;335:966 (10 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.39360.489132.AD

Feature

Head to Head

Should drugs be decriminalised? Yes

Kailash Chand, general practitioner

Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire OL6 9QH

Kailash.Chand@gp-P89609.nhs.uk

Recent government figures suggest that the UK drug treatmentprogrammes have had limited success in rehabilitating drug users,leading to calls for decriminalisation from some parties. KailashChand believes that this is the best way to reduce the harmdrugs cause, but Joseph Califano thinks not

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

There is a way that the UK government could more than halvethe prison population, prevent burglaries and prostitution,rip the heart out of organised crime, and free up millions ofhours of police time. Yet politicians, terrified of the rightwingpress, would never dare to suggest the legalisation, regulation,and control of the drugs market, even though it could save livesand bring an end to the needless criminalisation of some ofthe most vulnerable members of our society. Even downgradingcannabis—a tiny step in the right direction—is nowbeing reconsidered.

Prohibition as a policy has failed. Just look at the US, wherehundreds of thousands of people have been jailed and, despitebillions of pounds of funding for draconian policies, higherpurity drugs continue to flood the market.

Many of the violent criminal gangs owe their existence to theburgeoning, underground drug market. It is they—and notthe . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

Brett, M. D (2007). Prevention campaigns work. BMJ 335: 1061-1061 [Full text]
Black, S. (2007). Debate the balance of harm. BMJ 335: 1060-1061 [Full text]
McAloon, C. (2007). Look beyond legalisation. BMJ 335: 1061-1061 [Full text]
Weeks, R. L (2007). Try a little compassion. BMJ 335: 1061-1061 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

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legalisation and wishful thinking: Dr HC Raabe
bmj.com, 10 Nov 2007 [Full text]
Re: legalisation and wishful thinking: Peter O'Loughlin, et al.
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Re: legalisation and wishful thinking: Douglas G. J. McKechnie
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Should drugs be decriminalised: Martin S Schweiger
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Legalise drugs: Peter Bruggen
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Decriminalisation stops the black market dead!: Andrew Byrne
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Legalisation is not an option: Mary D Brett
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Opportunity not threat.: Alfred P J Lake
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Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Decriminalisation of Drugs: Christopher McAloon
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The pragmatic approach is the only one: Eden Spenceley-Buckham
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Legal regulation of drug markets is the rational evidenced based way forward: Stephen A Rolles
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Decriminalise - YES: Roger L Weeks
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Head to Head: Should drugs be legalised?: Peter O'Loughlin, et al.
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Prohibition breeds crime and exacerbates drug problems: Julian Buchanan
bmj.com, 16 Nov 2007 [Full text]
Lewis Carroll, but not Alice: Neville W Goodman
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Drugs and crime: the link is prohibition: Stephen A Rolles
bmj.com, 16 Nov 2007 [Full text]
Legalisation and even more wishful thinking: DR HC Raabe
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Anything but decriminalisation: Paul Fernandes
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Should drugs be legalised?: Peter O'Loughlin
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round and round we go: Stephen A Rolles
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Legalise drugs.: Alexander SD Spiers
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Prohibitionists get it wrong: Michael C Gormly
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Should drugs be legalised?: Peter O'Loughlin, et al.
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Quality of debate still lacking: stephen black
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We must try: jagdeep S khahra, et al.
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Should drugs be decriminalised: Ian Harris
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Should drugs be legalised?: Peter O'Loughlin
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