License to drugs

Bob Ainsworth suggests we should de-criminalise all drugs. Probably right, but a step too far for most.

What should be considered is the licensing of heroin and it's derivatives so that Smackheads at least can be registered, offered rehab, kept clean - needles, smack etc - and away from some of the more revolting dilutants, not to mention the vast and pervasive low level crime that so characterises drug culture.

Some estimate that drugs fuel nearly half of all crime in the UK - mostly theft, burglary, car crime & muggings - in order to support the vast sums required to fuel the drug habit.

Given Ken Clarke's stance on rehabilitation rather than punishment, licensing heroin and its positive effects on crime levels should be a no-brainer. And the fact that our troops currently control Helmand province in Afghanistan - centre of the world's heroin production - should mean we can effectively control access. What are you waiting for?