I've been thinking this thread a lot today (probably more than is good for me). I was trying to look up crime and prison statistics and although I couldn't find anything solid but it's clear that drug related crime and imprisonments is beyond belief. The last statistic I could find was 2006 and was 46% of crime is drugs related and I'm sure it's risen since. The reason this has been niggling me started when I went in to see a mate in his shop a couple of weeks ago and, this guy, early thirties, pulled up outside the pub across the road in his new fully loaded Range Rover Sport. I was informed he was recently out of prison for dealing and covers his business by a trade not unlike ours.
I mentioned earlier about inprison courses giving inmates a sense of worth and purpose but when impressionable youngsters see scumbags like this who can spend nine months inside and still live the high life, it's hardly surprising many of them go down the wrong path. The big problem is there's potentially an incredible amount of money in dealing and with addiction it appears to be growing like a cancer.
There was a programme last week argueing about legalising drugs with the argument being it puts the unscroupulous dealers out of business and it can be regulated. without going into detail it was a convincing arguement but I can't get past that it would be approving the habit. Alcohol is legal and it seems to becoming a bigger problem year by year.
In an ideal world it would be possible to eliminate the market for drugs and how can that be done?
I'm not making any real point here but venting my frustration. I just have this overwhelming feeling our society is going down the pan. Any input, anyone?
