Decriminalisation

Having come to the conclusion that the battle against drugs is one that cannot be won, Bob Ainsworth is suggesting that we might decriminalise drugs instead.

Many years ago, in a SciFi anthology, I read of a society which had no crime. As the story progressed it transpired that the planet had been a lawless and terrible place and its inhabitants were confronted by law breaking, but that had all gone. How dod they make crime disappear? Well, they merely looked at the crimes that were being committed and then removed them from the penal codes until there were none left! People committed whatever they liked, took whatever drugs they fancied, killed whosoever they pleased and eventually the lower echelons of the society had made themselves extinct, leaving an egalitarian and gentle society.

There is an argument that decriminalisation brings the issue under consideration out of the shadows and therefore out of the hands of the criminals such that it can be managed (and taxed?). Of course some (cynics) among us might say that the issue in question is merely being transferred to a different class of criminal!

The Swiss are discussing the decriminalisation of incest, the Romanians had a look at it last year. The reason? It's a moral issue and laws shouldn't control or restrict people's rights to act as they please. If the sexual relationships are by mutual consent, what's the harm?

Decriminalisation is an interesting issue as the majority of the acts that contravene legal codes are moral rather than legal! We make a law to stop something happening because those in authority deem that those acts are wrong. Often this is also a societal view as well and the law reflects the general opinion that something is wrong. The majority of these attitudes come from a moral code (usually the one that shapes or reflects the society) and so, in the Western world, this was the Bible and the ten commandments (not suggestions) as found in Exodus (in reverse order):

TEN: Keep your eyes of next door's stuff (especially his plasma TV, car and other half) - looking is the first step to nicking!

NINE: Don't tell lies about anyone - honesty is the best policy!

EIGHT: Don't nick nothing - hands off (literally if we're looking at sharia law ;))

SEVEN: Stick to sex with your own partner (and better still be married).

SIX: Don't commit murder (which is very different from killing by the way).

FIVE: Keep your family values and show a bit of respect for your parents (and therefore for society in general).

FOUR: Have a day off, you'll live longer - and while you're at it, you could spend a bit of time with God too!

THREE: Don't use God's name as a swear word - blasphemy is a crime against God and if He does exist (and I reckon He does) He'll want a few words with you about that one day!

TWO: Don't have possessions that control or possess you. You say you have no god but the 62" plasma and the 'must have' stuff seems to have that role. Stick to the real God and you'll be a lot better off!

ONE: Not a popular one this (as Dorkins rantingly demonstrates) - Stick to the true God, don't get sucked in by imitations!

The problem with decriminalisation is that with it all things might become permissible but not all things will be beneficial.