How the war on drugs creates violence

Re:How the war on drugs creates violence by awjr on Wednesday October 21, 2015 @05:25AM (#10424398)

This is a very valid point. I don't see the UK government however changing their approach. Treating addiction as a disease just enables the government to vilify users. Many low-level heroin/cocaine users just lead normal lives. As do many low-level wine users.

The only way I see this changing is when it financially makes sense. Taking Colorado as a model, the UK could get in the region of £400million a year in tax benefits from the legalisation of cannabis alone.

Drug related crime is estimated to cost the country £14 billion annually.

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Re:How the war on drugs creates violence by shocks on Wednesday October 21, 2015 @08:02AM (#10424862)

Thanks.

Do you know where I can find some numbers on this? It's something I've always wondered. We're told by the media that 90% of heroin addicts are on the street stealing to maintain their habit - but I wouldn't be surprised if 90% of heroin addicts appear to have these "normal" lives.

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Re:How the war on drugs creates violence by DanBC on Wednesday October 21, 2015 @01:29PM (#10426963)

There are two sources of information in UK.

Office for national statistics are nice. They're robust about what does or doesn't count, and how they count, and where you need to be cautious with the numbers. http://www.ons.gov.uk/

The other place might be Public Health Outcomes: http://www.phoutcomes.info/

EG http://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile-group/mental-health

And finally NICE tend to have excellent referencing.

Noodle around here to find the NICE guidance. http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/drug-misuse

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Re:How the war on drugs creates violence by user_0001 on Wednesday October 21, 2015 @11:58AM (#10426317)

Depends how you define "addict". As any heroin user? Someone whose whole life is based around the drug? Something else?

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Re:How the war on drugs creates violence by bluedino on Wednesday October 21, 2015 @09:44AM (#10425319)

>> Many low-level heroin/cocaine users just lead normal lives. As do many low-level wine users.

This is a pretty ridiculous comparison

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Re:How the war on drugs creates violence by code_sterling on Wednesday October 21, 2015 @09:54AM (#10425390)

Hardly, just because alcohol is socially accepted doesn't mean it's not a drug. Alcohol and heroine are considered the most harmful drugs out there. It's an apt comparison.

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Re:How the war on drugs creates violence by ex_ex_nihilo on Wednesday October 21, 2015 @01:18PM (#10426870)

It's only ridiculous if you don't think about it.

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