Apologies Celivia, missed your comment. My point is that the decrim. will not invalidate the senior law that is OH&S; and what a circus that will lead to. I stand down or sack someone to protect them and self when they have legally done no wrong?

A few more points- if drugs were pursued with the same vigilante enthusiasm as were those who might go a few k over the speed limit things would be different.

Every day millions of us 'just say no'.

Nobody yet has mentioned the topic of drugs and mental illness- something that surely warns us against making drugs any more available than they already are.

Hi, Palimpsest, drugs ARE being pursued in countries like Indonesia with the same enthusiasm as speeding.
The idea that drug prohibition will eradicate drug use is a fantasy. I find it irresponsible to be spending so much money on the war on drugs when this money could be spent on drug education, prevention and health.
Remember, they used to lock people up for drinking coffee.

Drugs will not become more available than they already are when we decriminalise them, the source just changes from dodgy dealers to regulated retail, like with alcohol and tobacco. There will be age restrictions, information on packaging, warnings etc. I reiterate that compared to other countries, drug consumption in the Netherlands is considerably lower.
Foxy said, “With legalisation we can remove the money from the control of criminals and invest in drug treatment and education programs.” I fully agree.

You said, “I stand down or sack someone to protect them and self when they have legally done no wrong?”
Perhaps I’m missing your point about OHS, but rules would be the similar as with alcohol. There can be OHS policy guidelines as there are with alcohol. Disciplinary procedures could be applied.
What do you do right now when someone turns up drunk, or has taken a prescription drug that causes drowsiness?

It makes no sense to prohibit drug use because the act of taking or selling drugs harms nobody else.
It should be nobody’s business.

People’s irresponsible behaviour and actions can harm others, not the act of taking drugs. So, the irresponsible behaviour should be punished, not the use of drugs.
We don’t punish people for drinking alcohol but we punish them for irresponsible behaviour like drink driving or violence.
We don’t ban cars because some people don’t drive responsibly because it would be hugely unfair to punish all drivers; we only need to punish the irresponsible behaviour of that individual driver.

This method should be applicable to all drug use.