Does society have the right attitude to drug taking or is it time for a new approach?

Recent government figures indicate that more than a third of British people have taken drugs in their lifetime - mainly cannabis.

The subject of drugs has been in the spotlight again with stories about Kate Moss' alleged cocaine abuse.

However, Drugs Minister Paul Goggins has called for the debate to move beyond headlines about celebrities and become more mature.

How should drug use be dealt with? Is it possible to strike a balance between punishment and treatment?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

This drug is not as innocent as some would like to believe Angela, London

For over 11 years of working as a psychotherapist, I have worked with many clients/patients who are, from their own wording, addicted to cannabis or are suffering from the effects of the drug. It causes mood swings, inability to relax unaided by the drug, paranoia, psychosis, insomnia, depression, anxiety and panic attacks, to name but a few of its side-effects. I would never have believed it until I witnessed this first hand. Over and over again. Without any doubt, this drug is not as innocent as some would like to believe. I certainly won't be indulging and I wouldn't want any of my future children to either. We are going to regret our softly, softly approach in years to come.
Angela, London

Has anyone actually considered why people take drugs? In my experience it's because people are bored. What is truly stimulating about our lives? TV, computers and all other forms of multimedia... I don't think so. Drugs are taken to find an alternative form of reality, something which mankind has been doing for a millennia. Prohibition only makes drug use more dangerous.
Claire, Brighton, UK

I use cannabis but have never been tempted to use anything else. I don't smoke cigarettes on their own and I don't touch alcohol. I work full time in a good job and have 3 children and have no adverse effects. I think cannabis availability should be like in Amsterdam where you can buy it ready made or from vending machines. Ban smoking in public if needs be but also ban drinking as well so all drug and alcohol usage will be in the home and not outside where the majority of problems are caused. Hard drugs, coke and heroin I cannot comment on but these, in my opinion, are more dangerous.
Tamika, London, UK

It is my way of relaxing after a hard day's work Ian, Lancashire

I work full time in the legal system. I don't enjoy drinking as I sometimes become aggressive. I enjoy a joint or 2 in the evening at home with my wife. It is my way of relaxing after a hard day's work. I could lose my home and career if I was caught, however it is still fine to get drunk in public and become an obnoxious Neanderthal. Is that what the government wants me to return too?
Ian, Lancashire

Some people enjoy a glass of wine with their dinner, others end up hopeless alcoholics. In the same way, some people use drugs responsibly and other end up addicts. I am in the highest tax bracket, own my own home and contribute to several charities. Yet because I prefer drugs to wine, I am classed as a criminal? Drugs are only kept illegal to boost the profits of the booze and prescription medicine trade. Prozac anyone?
Dave B, London

Current drug abatement policy is absurd. I agree with others who suggest that regulation of the sale of cannabis is more sensible than criminalising usage. Hard drugs are another matter, but again, why ruin a life by imprisoning the user? Treatment is more humane, more sensible and will ultimately be better for society as well as the individual addict.
Barbie, Florida, USA

Although keeping drugs illegal may not solve all problems, it is considerably better than the alternative. With all the alcohol-related problems that are rife in Britain, it seems staggering to argue that drugs should be legal because alcohol is. If anything, the responsible move would be in the opposite direction, with stiffer penalties for drunken behaviour.
Stephen, Philadelphia, USA

What is more damaging to a drug user? A prison sentence and then a life of low paid employment or continued drug use Michael, Utrecht, Netherlands

Drug policy should be reviewed in a holistic way, rather than the focus on this or that drug. Many drugs that are illegal today do less direct harm than many legal drugs. What is more damaging to a drug user? A prison sentence and then a life of low paid employment or continued drug use? Prohibition in the 20's gave rise to decades of organized crime and Prohibition today is doing the same to a whole new generation of real criminals.
Michael, Utrecht, Netherlands

If class A drugs were to be legalised then presumably people would be able to indulge in pubs, restaurants, on public transport etc. Would this be deemed acceptable to the public at large? I doubt it.
Tony Jennings, Liverpool, England

By insisting on a head-in-the-sand approach that refuses to concede that young people will always use drugs, the government is morally responsible for the harm that comes to them when they use impure substances pedalled by unscrupulous individuals. To legalise all drugs, however, would be foolhardy unless it is done in a controlled environment.
Adam Sulkowski, London, England

Ban alcohol and cigarettes first Nat, London, UK

As long as this government feeds us lies, people will ignore all the drug advice. They moan about ecstasy being deadly, yet thousands of ecstasy tablets are taken every weekend in clubs around the country, with no bad effects. We can't say that about alcohol. Isolated deaths do not make something a fundamental danger to society. Consistent deaths and illness does - so ban alcohol and cigarettes first. Then we might start listening to a valid argument, not a torrent of contradiction from the Department of Health.
Nat, London, UK

Having used cannabis medicinally for five years and knowing many people whose lives are made bearable by the substance, I must say that anyone who advocates prohibition is irresponsible and stupid.
Reverend Paul Farnhill, Manchester, UK

I used to manage a cannabis addict who would never drink, and who would rather be in a full room of people loved up on drugs than in a pub (because alcohol caused violent behaviour). I had to physically restrain him from attacking another member of staff. I had to handle his threats of violence against another member of staff. I had to deal with his paranoia, his mood swings, his threats, his tears, his tantrums, his demands. In the end, I left the job I loved because I could not take the stress of having to deal with him every day. And this from a "soft drug" that everyone seems to suggest does no harm?
Graham, Bedfordshire

Over the years, there has been far more harm caused by alcohol and cigarettes than by the use of cannabis. But the government won't ban alcohol cigarettes because of the revenue it produces. If you ban cannabis you MUST ban the other two. Since this will not happen, cannabis ought to be legalised in the same way. But then this would only make a "right" out of three wrongs instead of just two.
Martin Snook, Baldock, Herts

The only way to stop drugs from getting used on our streets is to cut them off at source Myles, San Francisco, USA

Trying to tackle the problem after the drugs are in the country will not work. The only way to stop drugs from getting used on our streets is to cut them off at source. Until the governments of drug producing countries step up and stop this problem, it will always exist on our streets. There is no other way.
Myles, San Francisco, USA

Having worked with teenagers whose minds and bodies have been irreparably damaged and their lives (and the lives of others) ruined by what started as recreational use, I must say that anyone who advocates legalisation is irresponsible and stupid.
Mike, Ivybridge, UK

Legalisation is the only way to take drugs away from criminal activity and to face up to the issue as an unavoidable recreation for so many in the UK. For too long there has been the futile "war on drugs" and the governments fighting it have all lost, the dismal finale being the magic mushroom criminalisation as a Class A drug over the summer. It is now time to maturely face up to reality and tax substances according to their health risk, maintaining a clean, accessible supply for users.
Lee D, Newcastle, UK

I am also one of those who prefer a 'crafty one' in comfortable surroundings with a few mates. This makes me very bias but I also know people who have created nothing but problems for themselves because of much harder substances. Alcohol should be at least a Category B drug.
Rob, Corby, England

I wonder if people would be so eager to legalise drugs if it were their children that had died due to drug addiction? Drugs kill people, alcohol kills people, tobacco kills people. Make them all illegal. Just because people do it, doesn't mean to say we should make it acceptable by legalising it.
D, West Yorkshire

Learn a lesson from history - prohibition didn't work Dave, London

Learn a lesson from history - prohibition didn't work. Drugs are not a modern problem. Mankind has been using drugs for thousands of years. From the Egyptians to the Romans to our modern day artists, drugs have influenced our society. Do not make criminals out of ordinary folk. How many times do we hear "terror groups" get their funding from drug money? Why not remove this source of income and use it to benefit society?
Dave, London

What stopped me taking heroin? The kids from Grange Hill or seeing a junkie dead in a doorway with a needle in their arm in Amsterdam. Legalise, let people see for themselves how cool being a drug addict is.
Simon Soaper, England

As long as alcohol and cigarettes are legal, there is no argument whatsoever. Drugs must be legal too. The sheer hypocrisy and irrationality of this surmounts any discussion.
Tom Franklin, London, UK

The answer is certainly not prohibition. That just puts the whole market underground, and that market will always be there regardless of the state officials and other moralists who don't like it. I don't want my taxes wasted on criminalising people who want to indulge in chemically-assisted recreation. What I do want is a society which has enough going for it that people don't need to escape on a trip, and that includes being less vindictive against those unfortunate enough to get addicted. Drugs of various kinds have been around for centuries, but the only time we have noticed a "problem" with them is when they became illegal.
Phil, UK

Legalise, tax and strictly control the supply Alison, Leeds, UK

Making dangerous drugs illegal does not stop people from taking them and ruining their lives as a consequence. Legalise, tax and strictly control the supply. This can be used to help educate users and offer safer, cleaner supplies to people who are currently taking their lives into their own hands with their addiction. If we remove the criminal element from the cycle, more people can live safely and hopefully get the help they need to live cleanly.
Alison, Leeds, UK

I'm 30, I have a full time job and have worked since leaving school. I pay my taxes, I pay my bills and after a hard day at work I go home and have a few joints of cannabis instead of a few pints of beer. This is my choice of how I want to relax and socialise. I stay in my own home with friends and family, I'm not out on the streets vandalising and abusing passers by intoxicated on alcohol. But unfortunately I am classed as a criminal.
Alex, Surrey UK

We must legalise all drugs, and the manufacture and sale of them should be taxed and regulated by the government. Purity, quality and quantity would be uniform and if prices were kept low the multi-million pound illegal drugs market would collapse overnight. It would greatly reduced addict-related petty crime, and drastically reduce gun crime between feuding drug gangs.
Sarah, SE London

Yet another area where schools need to play a part Deb, UK

Unfortunately this is yet another area where schools need to play a part. They already do this through PSHE and no doubt some parents won't like it, but if children are educated about drugs in an age appropriate way and taught assertiveness techniques to help them say "no", hopefully they will be better equipped to be drug free adults. There needs to be an investment at that level. Much cheaper than paying for rehabilitation and the cost of drug related crime.
Deb, UK

Drugs are a fact of modern society. I believe that they should be treated like tobacco. Legalise it, tax it, prohibit it, educate against it. That may cut crime and deglamourise it.
David Stevens, Nottingham, England

Legalise - simple!
Scott, Leeds, UK

Even those of us who condemn drug abuse, who have never used or intend to use drugs and who educate our children in the dangers of using drugs cannot help but notice the increase in violence surrounding the trading of illegal narcotics. The gun crime and gun ownership is now more terrifying than the drugs themselves and is surely moving the debate into new areas.
Lorraine, St Albans, UK

If alcohol is free, taxed and widely available, I don't see why drugs should not.
Pascal, Cambridge, UK

I'm 19 years old and currently hold a job in IT. Many of my friends also hold a respectable job like me and pay tax like any other citizen. I don't drink alcohol. I am, however, a recreational drug user, like many of my friends. We don't go out pubbing/clubbing at the weekend, that's not my scene. I find the atmosphere too aggressive, too competitive. You can't look at anyone without risking a fight. I just want to relax with my mates. However, not everyone can handle certain drugs, and all drugs have different risks. The government will never be able to stamp out illegal drug use so they should be looking to support those who want/need help and those who don't... leave them be as long as they don't cause trouble to society.
Mark, 19, Surrey, England