That whole 'legalising drugs' thing

Mummylonglegs stepped up to the oche, and I left a comment as follows (repeated here for posterity):

Completely agreed. And with drugs, there is a sliding scale, and I would suggest legalisation as follows:

1. Magic mushrooms - available from any greengrocer who can tell a poisonous mushroom from an edible one.

2. Mild cannabis - available from normal tobacconist/off-licence, over-18s only.

3. Ecstasy - available only at chemists, max. two tablets per customer Fridays and Saturdays only, over-18s only.

4. Cocaine - same as ecstasy - max. 1 gram per customer.

5. LSD - same as ecstasy, two tabs per customer but with six monthly renewable certificate from psychiatrist to say you are not nuts.

5. Heroin for injection - available with monthly repeat prescription from doctor at pharmacists.

6. Crack, still illegal, obviously.

And so on, I'm sure I've missed a few, but you just slot them in. All of these to be taxed like booze or fags, to be handed out with tedious leaflets with helpful advice for safe use and an admonishing glare.

Oh noes! Cocaine use up yet again!

From The Metro 3 December 2009:

The number of men under 35 seeking treatment [for cocaine addiction] jumped from 3,024 in 2005-06 to 5,264 in 2008-09. And the rise among young women is almost as steep – from 790 to 1,261

Meanwhile, the number of young people seeking treatment for heroin addiction has dropped dramatically. In 2005-06, almost 20,000 men needed treatment for the drug but that figure is now under 15,000.

From The Metro 5 October 2009:

The number of 18 to 24-year-olds seeking treatment for heroin or crack fell by 22 per cent to 9,632 between 2005-6 and 2007-8, official figures show

But the numbers of young adults presenting for treatment for cocaine dependency rose by more than two-thirds to 2,692 over the same period.

Twisted statistics of the day

From The Metro:

Fewer young adults with a drug problem are using heroin and crack - but the number of young people needing treatment for cocaine abuse is rising.

Here we go ...

The number of 18 to 24-year-olds seeking treatment for heroin or crack fell by 22 per cent to 9,632 between 2005-6 and 2007-8, official figures show. But the numbers of young adults presenting for treatment for cocaine dependency rose by more than two-thirds to 2,692 over the same period.

Or, as I would put it, "The number of young adults seeking treatment for heroin, crack or cocaine dependency fell by an eighth, or by 1,608* between 2005-06 and 2007-08."

* Maths point - I assumed that "more than two-thirds" means a seventy per cent increase, so I calculated the 2005-06 comparatives as 9,632 ÷ 78% = 12,349; 2,962 ÷ 170% = 1,583; 12,349 + 1,583 = 13,932. The total for 2007-08 is 9,632 + 2,692 = 12,324.