Such an obvious solution YES

But the public perception of the evils of DRUGS is overwhelmed with anti-drug propaganda so any possible changes are unlikely because there are NO politicians brave enough to support what is obviously a better approach to drug misuse.

It is OK for celebrities who suffer from SUBSTANCE ABUSE or are addicted to perscription medicines(supposedly legal), they are not drug addicts like anyone else who uses chemicals for recreation.

My point is the dialogue about substance abuse needs to change, the discourse is so negative, to make change we need to address public opinion first and start framing the conversation in terms of 'social damage' rather than individual problems.

The Portugese removed all prohibitions on drugs including heroin, they now have one of the lowest instances of problem drug users in Europe, an example the rest of the world should follow.

Underpinning drug prohibition is the puritan (Protestant) work ethic , just as the ghosts of this, animated by Charles Dickens in his many works including Oliver Twist, live on in other areas. Such as welfare. Social housing policy. Alcohol is tolerated as is tobacco because both were once widely used, the former still beign widely used whereas smoking is now a minority habit (except among the feral poor). By way of background, I am a non-smoker. Smoking has been banished from most public spaces, thankfully, however apartment residents still cop the lot if they have a few smoking neighbours as it trasmits through the hall and opened windows/balconies etc. In this day and age, booze and cigs are still tolerated as a revenue source with their taxes, as well as providing useless bread and circuses for the unwashed, so they keep their eye off the ball and only concern themselves with leisure, home and proletarian affairs.

Unless I am very much mistaken there are a few misconceptions in the article.

The possession of these drugs for personal use has been decriminalised, and so has the sale of soft (marajuana) drugs, but the sale and possesion of commercial quantities is still illegal.

Secondly Aus has one of the lowest consumption of hard drugs, mostly due to the high price which is in turn due to the low availability. (srong policing)

While the casualty rate from the hard drugs has dropped they are still a long way from zero, so while this might be a better managment solution, there is no doubt that drugs are a problem.

Low availability isn't necessarily strong policing. It has more to do with all that water around us, and the smaller population, hence market.

The only problem I've ever had with drugs is finding a good dealer. I suspect a lot of those who demonise drugs have never tried any illicit substances.

As I've said before, when talking about drugs, we should always narrow the discussion to the effects of heroin addiction. It's not like all those lawyers and marketing departments doing coke in their boardroom, and doctors grabbing those few extra vicodin have a problem. It's only those decadent young people taking Es and talking crap and hugging and dancing all night rather than getting drunk and picking fights that we should be worried about.

Lets keep the sniffer dogs at the rock concerts and not in the law and doctors offices or back stage at the logies.

Shadow Minister: "The possession of these drugs for personal use has been decriminalised, and so has the sale of soft (marajuana) drugs"

Only in some states: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis#Australia It is illegal to posses marijuana in any quantity where I live, in Queensland, for example.

Shadow Minister: "Secondly Aus has one of the lowest consumption of hard drugs, mostly due to the high price which is in turn due to the low availability. (srong policing)"

So you go along with that line too? "Common sense" dictates that if something is made illegal, it will reduce. It is not always the case. As an extreme example, making suicide illegal does not effect suicide rates. It doesn't appear that making personal possession of marijuana legal in some states has effected usage rates either. It is just a wild arsed guess on my part, but making it illegal to inflict self harm is at best a complete waste of time.

As stand out example of this is Portugal, where they decriminalised _all_ personal drug use. This did this because, surprise, surprise, the drug money was causing a break down of law and order. Decriminalisation brought no detectable change in usage rates. That isn't saying much as accurate usage figures when drug taking is illegal are hard to come by, but still there was no huge increase. On the other hand, it did solve the law and order problem. And harms plummeted, so less people were dying. All in all, it was a raging success.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html

That raises the philosophical question of when should something be made illegal. My answer to that would be when the potential harm to you is less than harms to others. You might like try applying that standard to prostitution, pornography, R18+ games, personal drug consumption, stealing, and drug trafficing (which is still is illegal in Portugal).

the fiction of 10 times/twenty times 50 times stronger dope is a proven lie...its like whiter than white..yet even at stronger dose..THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A DEATH

...the gateway theory is rebutted and as for the schito/linkage..the facts are 4 out of 100 ..NON smokers get a phycotic reaction...[and for smokers of dope its 2/100...thats 2 less..per 100 than non smokers

but you will allways get some docter willing to play the scam..willing to ridicule cannabis..[that has never caused a death..

even if the scitso thing was true...would you rather have a crazey kid or a dead kid...[booze killed 4000..but because of the 'benifitial affects of booze..that true number was reduced in the statistics to 2000...

[so of the 4000 deaths ATTRIBUTABLE directly to booze...2000 disappeared]...time to tax wine..the smokers been carrying the tax burdon for too long..

[the dug law raised 50 million.in 1999]..for qld alone..from 35.395 drug convictions..[35,395 people criminalised for what?...so booze can keep filling our hospitals..while druggies keep filling our jails

obesity from booze costs your tax dollars..them livers they wilfully destroy..the alcohol fueled violence...then the perscribed drugs...

,...yes...we have a drug problem..LEGAL DRUGS