Prohibition is, simply, fundamentally wrong

 

Heroin trials succeed in UK

Before the legal Injecting Centre in Kings Cross,
sights like this were fairly common in the street.

After the conservative government de-funded heroin trials in the UK, some local authorities have continued them, with dramatic reductions in crime and homelessness. 

One habitual user told how he used to have to shoplift £80 worth of goods each day to yield £40 for heroin. I'm sure the local shopkeepers prefer this new option. 

Prohibitionists of course are horrified at such a measure, preferring the endless round of expensive and destructive police, court and jail action that had clearly failed before these programs were launched – a system which also boosted a criminal supply chain with its endemic violence and corruption.

Legalise, regulate, tax and treat!

Yes, Aborigines do suffer discrimination in the justice system

Well the numbers are in – there is little doubt NSW police discriminate against Aborigines. And drug prohibition is a major enabler.

"Drug driving laws, whereby drivers can lose their licence on the spot if they have a detectable level of drugs in their system, also disproportionately impact Aboriginal people. Without a licence, many clients inevitably lose their jobs too," reports a special investigation by the Sydney Morning Herald.

As documented elsewhere on this blog, these laws are unjust because they do not test for impairment, only the presence of certain drugs in saliva or blood and cause instant loss of licence. Alcohol driver tests, on the other hand, measure the concentration of alcohol and licence loss occurs only with high blood levels or repeat offences.

Alcohol impairs driving far more than cannabis does, with some now claiming that experienced smokers have no impairment.

This of course discriminates against all drivers who use cannabis, but the investigation shows a systemic bias against Aborigines across many offences.

"In Sydney city, more Indigenous people went to jail than others for offensive language and other public order offences despite fewer being charged with this offence," says the SMH report.

If anyone thinks Black Lives Matter protesters don't have a genuine grievance, please read the linked article. And there is good reason for the BLM movement to campaign against prohibition because abolishing that failed policy will immediately benefit their cause!