"Theodore Dalrymple:" Don’t Legalize Drugs
Here is a six-part video of "Theodore Dalrymple" (Dr. Anthony Daniels) speaking before the Manhattan Institute:
Theodore Dalrymple - Romancing Opiates 1/6 (the first 6 minutes is Myron Magnet)
Theodore Dalrymple - Romancing Opiates 2/6
Theodore Dalrymple - Romancing Opiates 3/6
Theodore Dalrymple - Romancing Opiates 4/6
Theodore Dalrymple - Romancing Opiates 5/6
Theodore Dalrymple - Romancing Opiates 6/6
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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3 comments:
It's a good, well-reasoned reply to the argument for the legalisation of drugs. Thanks for posting it. It's a very live issue in Britain at the moment, as there are a number of people over here are arguing for the decriminalisation of all drugs. Indeed, last night there was an item on BBC news reporting that the consumption of drugs in Portugal has not gone up despite their recent legalisation over there. However, the programme noted that not everyone in Portugal was happy with their legalisation, and that it was still illegal to import drugs. The impression given was that the Porguguese policy was effectively a version of that which makes drugs legal if they're for a person's own personal use and not being supplied.
The item on the news also mentioned that no-one was sure why drug use hadn't increased in Portugal, however. This makes it extremely problematic whether such a policy could work in Britain or elsewhere. After all, when Britain abolished the licensing laws to make the country more like the Continent, the amount of alcohol-related crime and drinking increased immensely. People did not spread the same amount of drinking they had previously done over the whole day as happens in European countries, but used the new hours to drink much more alcohol. It's cause a lot of problems.
As for comparisons between the banning of drugs and Prohibition, the Financial Times carried an article on this about a decade ago. They pointed out that although Prohibition proved unworkable and had to be abandoned, nevertheless it did have the effect of lowering Americans' consumption of alcohol, to the point that Americans actually consume less than many other countries, and American beer is less alcoholic. In that, limited sense, Prohibition actually was a success despite the general failure of the policy.
Thanks for your comments, BR.
I came across some video of him speaking and answering questions a couple of years ago before the Manhattan Institute. I've added links to the original post, if you're interested in watching.
Alcohol is now freely available in Australia, however it costs the taxpayer billions upon billions of dollars every single year.
Now drug abuse of legal drugs is also growing and also costing us in untold millions, so sorry, i'm not buying the legalize drugs crap.
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