I worked in the drugs field for many years, as an advisor to drug users and as an enforcer of drug laws.
To be honest, the Green policy is rather moderate. It only seems radical because it regards drug users as being in need of help. An attitude that is so at odds with general opinion (I think…from what I am told…from what I read in the papers etc) which is very critical of drug dependent people who are seen as immoral and weak and inherently criminal.
In practice, Zoe Garbett is advocating a harm-reduction approach which ,as I say, only appears radical by contrast with the “major” Parties .
Personally, I would propose a legalisation of addictive drugs such as heroin . Users would be prescribed by doctors and would collect from a pharmacy as per usual or from a specific clinic where they would administer it safely.
This would go a long way to undercut the “business model” of illegal drug suppliers as well as all the associated thefts /burglaries and violent enforcement.
Why engage in criminal activity if you can avoid desperate cravings simply by collecting your normal script?
Help can be given to reduce the level of usage but this should be offered with a light touch. The saving in costs involved in the reduction in crime would more than outweigh the expense of providing every user with their fix for the rest of their lives if they want!
Legally-provided and tested heroine is entirely safe. The dangers of heroin use come from contaminated substances, needles and violent suppliers wanting “their” money. If I recall, the American author, William Boroughs , was a daily heroin user until his death in his eighties. He had enough money to buy his own clean supplies without recourse to crime.
Th current failure is rather akin to the Tory failure to undermine the “business model” of migrant smuggling enterprises. By refusing to allow refugees to cross the Channel by normal means to make their asylum applications, the government creates the “problem” of the small boat crossings. But they are so stuck with their engineered attitude of disapproval towards refugees, that they cannot take any sensible action for fear of appearing “soft” towards those it has portrayed as unworthy.