I'll play Devil's advocate here. Suppose you want to consume a drug that is currently criminalized, you need to think past the toll on only your body. You need

I'll play Devil's advocate here. Suppose you want to consume a drug that is currently criminalized, you need to think past the toll on only your body. You need to consider the toll to society. The retail price you pay includes the salaries of gangsters who commit murders and help perpetuate a culture of violence. It encourages other unrelated crime, because it helps set up infrastructure required by criminals, like easy access to guns. It includes the bribes that are given to law enforcement and other public officials who then subvert some of the rules and laws that are the basis of our society. To a lesser extent, since your transaction won't be taxed, there's a small hit to society compared to if you chose a legal high instead. None of these points would apply if those hard drugs are legalised and regulated, of course. At that point, I'm less certain about the right thing to do. Should the government sell clean versions of ecstacy, heroin or any of the other million synthetics available? I honestly don't know.