Abstract
The paper reveals that the decriminalization of drug abuse has not been so successful in other countries. Most Canadians favouring de-criminalization refer to cannabis or their own drug preferences, unaware of thousands of persons trapped in heroin and especially crack cocaine abuse and related criminality. Having laws against drug trafficking helps medical professionals to help the addict who wants to change his or her life, perhaps believing an addiction cannot be overcome. The paper provides comments on harm reduction, the need to help the addict and the ethics of keeping some drug laws in place towards this end.

From the Paper
"Western countries have seen rising addiction to illegal drugs, related crime and overall harm to the public (Allen, 2005). This paper examines the issue of drug decriminalization, noting a number of arguments for and against, indicating that decriminalization is not a solution to the drug addiction problem. In addition to textual research, time was taken to visit two Toronto areas noted for addicts and related criminal activities. This allowed for observation of people whose entire lives are centred on drug abuse as helped to see defects in the arguments of those who recommend decriminalization."

Tags:drugs, legal, crac