An Exit Strategy from the Drug War

Just as important as working on how to bring about drug law reform is thinking about drug regulation will be managed when it happens. The UK's Transform Drug Policy Foundation has done just this, with a new report titled: "After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation."

The report lays out -- drug by drug -- evidence based policies for drug management once we move past the destructive prohibition that has filled our prisons for three decades.

There's no chance we'll legalize psychotropic drugs without an exit strategy. The rapid development of plans like this one from the TDPF will help even incremental policies like the decriminalization of marijuana possession, by offering empirical evidence of a successful transition.

The TDPR offers five different forms of drug management, and breaks them down by substance:

1. Prescription: the most controlling model, this would be an exact
equivalent to current prescription models for medical drugs, and some
opiate maintenance programmes.

2. Pharmacy sales: drugs would be made available through pharmacies
or pharmacy-like outlets, either on prescription or over the counter.

3. Licensed sales: vendors would be granted a licence to sell specific drugs
under certain, clearly defined conditions, on off-licence like premises.

4. Licensed premises: vendors would be licensed to manage premises
where drugs would be sold and consumed, much like public houses
and bars.

5. Unlicensed sales: certain low risk substances could be managed
through food and beverage legislation, as—for example—coffee is
currently managed.

Download the report to review the drug-by-drug breakdown.

As we've discussed here, all of the drug regulation schemes above would generate tax revenue for federal and state governments. If you're wondering how much your state could collect, take a look at this chart from Sloshspot, recently reposted by Andrew Sullivan at DailyDish.