The Best Way To Increase The Crime Rate

It’s a pretty safe bet to say that the majority of crime is, in some way, drug related. The benefit of the ‘war against drugs’ has been to boost the income of those involved in crime and make more jobs for police and security services.

Making anything that is popular, illegal, is a sure fire recipe for making it the target for criminals to see a way to make a lot of money. It happened in the USA in the times of prohibition when alcohol was banned and it has been happening around the world since drugs were made illegal.

I know how devestating drugs can be to peoples lives, and I include alcohol in that. Addiction to anything leads people to do things they would otherwise never consider. Otherwise upstanding citizens would never have anything to do with criminals if the didn’t want the things they cannot get legally.

If we made cheese illegal tomorrow I have no doubt I would be out on the street trying to buy the stuf next week and I am sure there would be plenty of criminals producing cheese to supply the demand. We can also be pretty certain that cheese would become more expensive and the criminals would make a lot of money.

It stands to reason that if there is demand for something and there are no legal channels to get it through, the criminal element will provide it and make pots of money from doing so. It is capitalism at work.

So, I was to say the least disappointed to hear that there is talk of removing addicts benefits if they refuse treatment for their addiction. What makes this even more ridiculous is the shortage of places and facilities for people who do genuinely want help to deal with their addictions.

The idea that by removing the only income an addict has will somehow convert them seems to me to miss the point. They are addicts because they are addicts. Yes, you need to break that cycle but that will come better through additional support and not from less.

You only have to think about this for a tenth of a second to see that if you or I were an addict and we had no benefit money to buy drugs we would turn to crime or prostitution to raise the money. It is not a question of rational or logical thinking. Just ask a drunk if he thinks he would be safe to drive. Common sense doesn’t come in to it at all, it is the drug talking.

Even the Social Security Advisory Committee – an independent statutory body – said withdrawing benefits from drug users would lead them into crime and prostitution but I don’t think you need to be qualiified in anything other than common sense to see this is true.

For years now governments of every country and every political leaning have tried to go against the onbious facts on drugs and drug use. Making drugs illegal encourages crime. Telling lies and saying all drugs are bad as they enjoy drinking alcohol is obvious nonsense to any young person watching. The war on drugs does not work and never has.

It is time some common sense was applied to this issue and the resources put it place to educate and help anyone who is tempted by or has a problem with drugs and that should most definitely include alcohol since that is one of the most destructive drugs we have in modern society.

Education, genuine honest advice and support and assistance is the answer. Not some silly idea to get the Daily Mail on the governments side. The newspapers have a responsibility here too. They know they spout nonsense all the time. They should be more honest so the public is better informed.