Head Shops: Proving that legalisation is not the answer

So the country’s brief but fiery obsession with head shops and so-called “legal highs” has finally fizzled out, thanks to the government’s blanket ban on the majority of substances used by these shops.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking; this is another rant condemning the practice entirely and praising the government to the high heavens for finally putting a stop to all of this. (As someone who has never made use of any of these substances, I’m going to keep this as objective as possible.) But the reality is that this whole drugs situation is much more complicated than merely the black and white of ‘to legalise or not to legalise’.
On paper, when you think about it, the concept of a head shop isn’t an awful idea. It provides safe channels for people who do use drugs to get them legally and legitimately. It almost sounds like an obvious solution to the problem of legalising, but practically, as we have seen, there’s problems abound. A lot of the substances being used in legal highs can be extremely harmful and, more alarmingly, are completely unknown and foreign to doctors. At least with heroin and cocaine, A&E staff know what they’re dealing with, but they’re blind in dealing with some of the drugs coming from head shops.
Another problem is that teenagers experimenting with legal highs are oftentimes unsure of how to take the drug, in terms of quantity etc., because there isn’t as common knowledge out there about them as there would be illegal drugs. Again, it’s the problem of dealing with the unknown.
So, should it be a case then of providing widespread education about these drugs and about drug use in general? This idea doesn’t sit right with me whatsoever. The idea of going around secondary schools and colleges instructing people on how to use drugs if they so wish is an idea I find disturbing, to say the least. That kind of education is bordering on the promotion of drugs, which I think goes beyond all realms of decency.
Then there’s the argument that some form of legal channels have to be put in place to counteract the illegal and thuggish underworld drugs trade. Of course I think this needs to be dealt with in some manner or form but legalising may not be the answer, as we have seen. Several bombings of various head shops around the country, which have been blamed on illegal drug traders, is worrying evidence that the illegal drug practice may not go away, at least not without a fight. Isn’t legalising about ending violence? I’m aware that head shops versus drug barons isn’t a thoroughly accurate indication of what full legalisation would be like (difference in substances being the main difference), but it is a warning nonetheless.
Another argument I’ve heard several times is that the crime rate in the country would be reduced. Of course it would be reduced, because an entire criminal practice would be wiped out. But the social consequences remain the same. If we’re talking full legalisation, it won’t change the life consuming properties of heroin or cocaine addictions. It won’t get the scum off our streets that live their lives for their next hit, not caring who they hurt or what they do to get it. Drug trafficking and illegal dealing would be a thing of the past (if the underworld trade is quashed by legal dealers), but drug related crimes would still remain, and would probably increase due to the hypothetical ease in which people would be able to acquire drugs upon legalisation.
But what about alcohol, I hear the cries? Isn’t alcohol technically a ‘legal high’? Well, yes. And this is where my argument, and I’m sure a lot people’s, falls apart. Don’t we all technically drink to get that buzz (pissed, sloshed, whatever the hell you call it yourself)? Of course there’s social drinkers out there but the reality is that this country’s people, young people in particular, abuse alcohol on a very regular basis, and no one bats an eyelid. Oh, but when hash or some other soft drug is mentioned, that’s a no go. I’m one of those people. I’ll admit that. But I think that’s what we’ve been conditioned to think like. Where along the line did the high afforded by alcohol become completely accepted, celebrated even, while the highs from cannabis remained widely frowned upon?
It’s a hugely complex issue, and I can say with a large degree of conviction that I’m not the only one on the fence over it all. I truly think society would be a poorer place if we legalised drugs, if my prediction that drug use would increase alarmingly does indeed come to pass. I can see some of the benefits that legalisation would bring, but I think for it to be even considered, it would have to be so tightly regulated. Nevertheless, as I’ve hopefully gotten across, there isn’t that much of benefit to society in general to warrant any form of legalisation.