Sweden took a liberal "harm minimisation" approach to drugs in the mid 60's but it was not sucessful and in the 70's it switched to its current approach. It is one of the few western countries that have truely rejected harm minimisation, which probably accounts for its very low levels of illicit drug use. Whilst social and cultural factors must play some part in this sucess, you only need to compare Sweden to its near neighbour the Netherlands to see the results of a liberal drug policy.

Many people claim that prohibition doesn't work, and no doubt 1930's American style prohibition doesn't, but present day Sweden is proof that when properly implemented prohibition can be far more sucessful than harm reduction.

For more information on the Swedish approach see
http://www.drugpolicy.org/global/drugpolicyby/westerneurop/sweden/

Aspro has been smoking it for years and has noticed no ill effects,just like the frog simmering in the scientific beaker,his consciousness and clarity of mind will ebb away with each puff,and he will not realised the the reality of any convictions ,let alone the courage to fulfill them.

C'mon Guys, Is that the best you can do ? A couple of character assassinations !The C I A recently stated that there was around 4,000 acres of marijuana growing in Oz. If thats true then the second biggest cash crop,after wheat, in Oz can be grown entirely on one medium sized farm. Has anybody got the figures on how much taxpayers money has been spent on the prohibition world wide in the last fifty years ?

While Xenophon's article is an interesting comparison between Australia's experience with illegal drugs and Sweden's approach, I disagree with his conclusions. Despite some superficial similarities, there are some very basic differences between the two societies that impact upon the relative success of their approaches to drugs.

As the classic 'welfare State', Sweden had in place a robust and well-resourced health and community sector that was able to accommodate the prohibitionist reforms introduced in the 1980s. At precisely the same period, Australia's brief flirtation with the welfare State ended with the rise and rise of economic rationalism. Since then, our health and community sectors have steadily been eroded while our our prisons and police are ever better resourced.

Another difference is largely geographical. Although I understand that hydroponically grown marijuana is now popular, one reason that dope smoking was taken up by so many people in Australia is that it's so easy to grow in our climate. Also, our proximity to and increased interaction with Southeast Asia has meant that our illicit drug use patterns are quite different to those in northern Europe.

Despite the calls for more draconian approaches in the current increasingly authoritarian political climate, I think that this genie's well and truly out of the bottle. I also think that the only approach that has any hope of success in our society is that of harm minimisation combined with regulation of currently illegal drugs, in much the same way that we have approached e.g. alcohol and tobacco.

We should legalise, regulate and tax heavily all drugs that are currently illicitly produced, distributed and consumed, while simultaneously providing educational and diversionary programs for those who can't regulate their own drug use. The alternative is more crime, more gaols, overworked and frustrated police and courts, and the criminalisation of thousands of otherwise harmless people.

Guess who's back! (very temporarily)

Yeah, drugs are bad. Really damaging to your health and society in general. In particular: alcohol and cigarettes. Any coincidence that they cause more death and illnesses than most of the others combined? And do very little that's positive to our senses? Well, maybe. But they're definately far worse than weed, MDMA or LSD.

Oops! Stated the obvious. Good thing it's those ones that are illegal though. Imagine if it were the other way round! So much less cancer and domestic violence. Instead it'll be all peaceful and open minded, with respect and love and...urgh, don't even want to think about that world. I'm glad we've been told which drugs to take and which ones not too. They obviously know what's best for us.

Hi red! Red, do you drink? If you do, then you're a hypocrite and your as bad as the rest of us. Drugs have been a part of humanity for longer than you would ever care to know.

Um, yeah, hi everyone, just stopped back here on my way out. About to go...you know...break the law, by enjoying my mind, body and soul. Connect emotionally and mentally in ways that most wouldn't realise was possible. Enjoy life to the fullest, without hurting a soul, in other words. You can see why there's laws against people like me.

Peace guys

No one has mentioned the causes and precursors of drug use. I do not agree with the Swedish approach. I will declare my interest as a regular [intravenously adminstred] narcotic and amphetamine user.