People have been taking drugs, which our government deems illegal, for as long as there have been people. 11 million people take illegal drugs in the UK, despite their being illegal.

The government justifies drugs laws with two main arguments: cost and health.

The government tells us that drugs crime costs the tax payer £16 billion per year. If we look at where this money is spent we find that the majority of the expense comes from the fact that drugs are illegal. It is spent on paying the Police to arrest people on drugs charges, it is spent on paying the court service to hear the trials and it is spent on paying the prison service to keep people in prison. If we were to repeal the misuse of drugs act 1971 and replace it with a system of regulation, education and quality control the tax payer would save £16 billion per year.

The government paints a picture of illegal drugs beign evil and bad for our health although 11 million people manage to take illegal drugs in this country. The greatest health risks come from the fact that there is no regulation of the system, there is no education as to safe methods of use and there is no quality control.

Alcohol and tobacco are proven to be more harmful to health than many illegal drugs (there are too many to mention individually here).

The example set in countries such as Holland shows that legalising drugs does not mean that the country will grind to a halt while everyone has a go. It does not change peoples attitudes towards them, similarly some people choose not to drink alcohol or smoke tobacco, some do, legality is not an issue here.

Cannabis, for example, is proven to have many health benefits. It is proven to help relieve the symptoms of chronic pain, arthritis, spinal chord injuries, glaucoma and parkinsons to name but a few.

For the reasons given above, drugs laws do not work and never will.