In Canberra, the Capital Territory Assembly has passed a new regulation on drug use. Possession of "small amounts" of addictive substances such as cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and others is expected to be decriminalized as of October 2023.
The main thing to take into account lies in the concept of "small amounts", as if it were the same to control the consumption of more or less bread, for example, than to control the amount of drugs to consume. Ignoring the tolerance effect, known by doctors and other experts, the new law establishes as stable the possession of 1.5 grams of substances that create dependence and tolerance. That is, the habit becomes a dependency and this develops a tolerance that leads to needing more and more of the drug to obtain the same effect. Therefore, the assumption that allowing the possession of a small quantity, which may be daily, will end the problem of drug addiction is not valid. At first this amount may be enough, then no longer.
Public or private entities that help drug addicts know this. I was able to verify it myself when interviewing addicts and ex-addicts for my book The weight of the drug. Disheartening stories like that of a cocaine addict, already rehabilitated, who came to consume seven grams a day. “The truth is that I lost the oremus, I only lived for this. It is an effect that rises, and after ten minutes it has already passed and you want more, and you want more”.
Or the also terrible one of a 21-year-old girl who consumes amphetamines: “I spent four years without doing anything at all. I spent all day with the drug. Four years ago, with half a pill, I was fine for seven hours. Later, I have needed fifteen pills in a weekend”. He was in treatment, and his opinion on the legalization of drugs was blunt: "No, I think there would be more consumers."
The liberalization of more narcotics, added to the legality of tobacco and alcohol, is not effective against addictions. This is demonstrated by the persistence of smoking and the growth of alcoholism, especially among adolescents. Information from an early age and a judicious social context are the real antidotes.
