Posts Tagged ‘heroine’

A ceasefire in the War On Drugs?

By Jonathan Power

Not that long ago in Britain Sherlock Holmes could quite legally sit by the fire with his pipe and sniff cocaine. If friends wanted to join him they could, without fear of a police raid, smoke marijuana. Opium was used for those in unbearable pain and could be bought without a doctor’s prescription. (Alas, most people in very poor countries then and today have never been able to afford any pain relief. Too many die in agony.)

Historically, it is the British who have the worst record on drugs. When the British controlled India they became the largest drug trafficker the world has ever seen, transporting opium from India to China, forcing Chinese ports open so they could win addicts among the mass market of the poor.

These days, when it comes to alcohol and tobacco, in most societies the degree of control is subject to fierce debate Read the rest of this entry »

 

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