The Problem: Counter-narcotics is an expensive failure – a regulated market is needed, but does not yet exist.
The Solution: Grow drugs on MOD property and have the police and military sell them through regulated retailers.
This is a simple idea to create a regulated drugs trade where the growth and sale of those drugs would fund Defence and Law Enforcement, rather than being a massive cost to those two sectors.
I therefore propose that the UK begin to legalise the sale of some drugs, but hand a monopoly on the growth and sale of those products to the Ministry of Defence and Police.
I am not suggesting that soldiers and police officers start selling drugs on the streets, but rather that MOD land (1% of UK land) could be used for regulated growing and processing of some licensed narcotics, and then a chain of retailers would be established to sell those products, with all profits returned to the MOD and Police.
The retail chain would give jobs to veterans, helping the transition from Bobbies and Soldiers to Civies, and would be the sole locations for the purchase of legal narcotics.
Most attempts at the legalisation of narcotics focus on the taxes that would be generated for government, but then there is always a risk the high price of the drugs will dissuade purchasers.
With this idea, the tax is unnecessary as all profits will go to the public purse, specifically to the MOD and Police.
Such a policy would not only reduce the costs of counter-narcotics, saving the public purse a fortune, but also direct money into critical areas which are currently underfunded, namely Defence and Law Enforcement.
I am not a fan of monopolies, however, I understand the desire for regulation of narcotics, so this seems a good compromise. Also, the retail chain could just act as a franchise system, offering a large amount of autonomy to each individual store to develop products their customers want, or come up with new products they think customers would want.
It would enable a space for entrepreneurialism in the public sector which does not yet exist and compel those involved in the most direct way to fulfil the needs of the public; business is the toughest democratic climate of all, as people have the chance to vote with their wallets.
The ‘war against drugs’ has clearly failed; anyone who thinks it hasn’t is mad by Einstein’s pithy definition of doing the same thing and expecting different results. We need an alternative, which reduces the cost of counter-narcotics and brings money into the public purse; with a massive debt post-Covid, we also need new industries to emerge to grow the economy, give people a chance to spend their savings, and increase government revenues without raising taxes and putting a brake on the economy.
Instead of drugs funding mafias and rebel fighters, let’s make it fund police officers and soldiers and help keep the UK and the wider world safe.
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