So heroin was legal in Australia at that time? Because otherwise you’re not actually arguing a counterpoint demonstrating that legalizing hard drugs = less expense due to policing, incarceration, hospitalization, theft.
See the point isn’t that legalizing hard drugs make people do them less, the point is that prohibition does fuckall to mitigate problems while costing a lot of money that ACTUALLY COULD BE USED TO MITIGATE PROBLEMS.
People who want to get fucked up will get fucked up. That’s the end of that story. You want to make things generally safer and less costly for people who don’t want to get fucked up? You legalize it, and test it the same way you do aspirin and toothpaste. Result? Cheaper dope due to it not being black-market = less stealing, more money for social programs, fewer medical costs because when you but a bag of heroin that says “80%” pure heroin then that’s what you get so a heroin user knows how to do it w/o killing herself.
The downside? Fewer assholes getting rich from the for-profit prison system.
