Legalise Soft Drugs

A call has gone out in the South African Medical Journal for a review of the legality of psychoactive substances such as marijuana (dagga).

Professor JP van Niekerk, managing editor of the journal, said it was important for South Africa to reopen the debate about the criminalisation of these substances, and to reconsider its policies in light of the fact that war against drugs in South Africa had failed.

It was time to face reality, the professor added, and rationally debate the question of decriminalisation.

“It makes no sense to legalise the use of alcohol and tobacco, but not the less dangerous substances like marijuana,” Van Niekerk argued.

He said that by decriminalising drugs there could be better control, and that the country could gain revenue from it through taxation.

He argued further that the role of criminal drug dealers could be significantly reduced.

Van Niekerk believes that improved state control, as is the case with tobacco and alcohol, could also be applied in the control of drugs in South Africa.

The high prices of illegal drugs, he said, often forced those dependent on them into criminal activities, including drug peddling and robbery, to finance their addiction.

On the other hand, he added, one of the reasons many people stopped smoking was because the price of tobacco was increased.

Controlling prices in this way was one of the mechanisms that could be used to manage the problem.

Van Niekerk said the way in which the drug scourge was being “fought” was actually making the drugs more valuable, and was attracting more participants to the illicit drug economy.

If they were decriminalised, he argued, drugs could be better controlled and the money saved could be used for education about the harm caused by drugs, and for the rehabilitation of addicts.

Van Niekerk said that while the use of drugs may be a vice, it should not be considered a crime - so making criminals of a large proportion of South Africa’s population.

“It is easier for youngsters to buy drugs than it is for them to buy cigarettes, because they would be asked for their ages. If the same could be done with drugs, then that would mean more difficult access to them,” he said.

When asked whether he believed the idea would work in South Africa, Van Niekerk answered that he did.

He added that evidence showed that the country’s current policies to fight the war on drugs were not working, with more and more people accessing drugs.

A recent study done by the SA Medical Research Council on drug abuse in the Western Cape showed that alcohol was among the worst abused substances, with Khayelitsha singled out as the area of the province where it was most abused. (from IOL)