The Economist (magazine)                             June 11th - 17th 1994

Drugs

The Quiet legalization of drugs

Opening crack

The only people who would want drugs legalized, you might think, are free-
market radicals, junkies or both. On June 8th-9th, senior police officers
held their annual conference on drugs. Some independent thinkers such as
Raymond Kendall, the head of interpol, the international police organization,
called for drug use to be brought within the law. But no chief constables
dared voice public support for legislation. John Major ruled it out on a
visit to Cleveland because people would "move from soft drugs to hard
drugs." And when Michael Howard, the secretary, addressed the conference,
he backed the prime minister. Only months before, he had increased the
maximum fine for possession of cannabis five-fold.

But reality differs from rhetoric. Recent years have seen a creeping `de
facto' legalization of drugs. This softening has been caused partly by
evidence that drug enforcement is failing. The police and customs have
seized ever-larger quantities of drugs (the number of seizures rose by 237%
between 1982 and 1992). Officers have caught more dealers (arrest are up
179% over the same period). Yet drug use appears to have increased too. In
a survey of 10,000 people in 1992, 28% of 16-29-year-olds said they had
tried illegal drugs, roughly twice as many as 1982. Even most policemen
admit that rising arrest and seizures reflect the growth of drug use, rather
than the success of enforcement.

Most drug users, of course, are neither addicts nor even miserable. Around
half of the drug users say they have taken only cannabis. Recent Home Office
research shows that cannabis smokers are concentrated among the professional
and managerial classes. Two new magazines for dope aficionados-`Hemp Nation
and Bush Telegraph'-have appeared. Even the `Sunday Telegraph', a strictly
middle-class paper, recently published an article on the etiquette of
dinner-party dope-smoking.

Rave culture has also boosted the use of recreational drugs. According to a
Gallup survey among 15-24-year-olds, rave drugs have taken root quickest of
all. The proportion who had taken LSD rose from 2% to 10% between 1989 and
1992; those taking Ecstasy rose from 1% to 7%. "There's a whole generation
of young people involved," admits Keith Hellawell, the cheif constable of
West Yorkshire.

Despite the hardline words of Mr Howard and other ministers, the police
have become more pragmatic. For a start, they have become dramatically
more tolerant of cannabis. In 1982, over 70% of those caught in possession
of the drug were punished (with either a fine, community service or
imprisonment). In 1992 only 30% were punished. Most caught with cannabis
are now given a mere caution.

Police and health officers also now agree that the health of hard-drug
users should take priority over arresting them. In 1988, the Department
of Health pioneered a policy of trying to reduce the harm of drugs, rather
than preventing their use. "AIDS represents a greater threat to health
than drug misuse," it explained. The department set up 270 needle-exchange
schemes. Doctors began to prescribe methadone, a herion-substitute which
is not injected.

But, crucially, the approach entails more relaxed enforcement of the law.
The Scottish Office recently complained that in the early 1980s a police
crackdown on herion users led to needle sharing and thus boosted HIV
infections. So the police now steer clear of needle exchanges and spend
more of their time chasing drug dealers rather than users. In fact, some
police have become so concerned not to disrupt treatment that they say
they have given up even asking questions of those visiting needle
exchanges, though this might help them gather information on dealers.

The police reap benefits from such a policy too. Making it easier for
addicts to seek cures, for example, can reduce crime. Studies show around
90% of herion users finance their habits from shoplifting or burglary. A
few clinics are allowed to prescribe drugs themselves, rather than
substitutes, to addicts. The Halton clinic, near Liverpool, claims
particular success for its small-scale experiment in legalization. A study
of 150 addicts prescribed cocaine or herion showed they committed 96%
fewer crimes while under treatment. Senior officers, such as Mr Hellawell,
are now calling for more research into such schemes.

But both chief constables and those who treat users are also beginning
to complain that drugs education is too doctrinaire. They want teachers
to admit to children that taking drugs can be pleasant as well as harmful.
"The days of frightening people are over," argues Mike Goodman, the
director  of release, the national drugs advice agency.

Many children, after all, realize that moderate soft drug use may be no
more harmful than alcohol or tobacco. Surveys shows that 30% of 15-16-
year-olds say they have taken drugs. Mr Hellawell, too, advocates giving
pupils better information. "You've got to be honest with children," he says.
And yet whether more honesty, rather than scare tactics, actually reduce
drug use among children remains unproven.

So far, the softening of policy towards drugs and the softening of policy
towards drugs and the laws which criminalise their use have co-existed. But
for how long? The police, for example, may retreat further from prosecuting
cannabis users. The Department of Health may decide to reduce the health-
risks of adulterated illegal drugs by allowing more clinics to dispense
herion and cocaine. And teachers, forced to concede that cannabis may be
no more damaging to health than tobacco, could soon begin to stumble over
explanations of why cannabis is outlawed. The contradictions of
criminalization, in other words, can only become more apparent.

-end