16. What is Decriminalisation and Legalisation of Drugs?

The term decriminalisation means to bring the drug problem out of the scope of penal (criminal) law. Law enforcement will no longer be provided for the export, import, manufacture, distribution, sale, publicity, possession and use of drugs that are up till now controlled within the scope of international conventions.
The consequence of decriminalisation of drugs is that society has no law or lever to use to direct drug addicts towards help or treatment, neither does society have the means to suppress trafficking.
Hand in hand with decriminalisation of drugs lies legalisation. In the case of legalisation, a form of more or less free distribution of drugs is to be organised. In the case of decriminalisation (with drugs out of the penal law), the Government will have to regulate the distribution and make rules for such. But regulations by Government will fail as users need more and more.
The consequence of legalisation would be that society would be subjected to an increased pressure from the drugs market.
Claims that legalisation will reduce crime are false, i.e.: Holland, a country that has introduced de facto decriminalisation, now has the highest rate of criminality in Europe.
Also, crimes associated with the use of psychoactive drugs, i.e.: violence, murders, road, train and plane accidents will increase.

Yes, it is complete capitulation. Users, the root and motive force of the drugs market, will be more or less free to use and possess drugs, and traffickers will feel it worth the risks to extend the traffic to more people.
Success is guaranteed due to the addictive character of the drugs.

It is not difficult to argue against legalisation since it is accompanied by a large number of negative effects on the individual, the family and society.
On the other hand, it may be more difficult to argue against the advocates of legalisation as a whole, since they are not a unified group and entertain in their group a number of different proposals.

Drugs are illiegal because they are dangerous - They are not dangerous because they are illegal.