I am presenting this as an invention because it is well outside any qualification that I can claim. The background I do have is informal and a bit privileged so I am not going to engage in any arguments for or against.

The proposed regime

This regime would be centred round a special credit card. Financially it would be like any other credit card. It would be issued to an individual who would top up the credit in the usual way.

Its use however would be restricted to the purchase of drugs. Also both the user and retailer would have to accept that every sale is recorded in a database and this data will be made available to the suppliers of drugs, researchers and to the users health records.  Certain employers, of drivers or pilots for example, would have the right to check them also.

The sales data would also record the supply chain for every product so that the exact composition of the drug is recorded and suppliers can be held responsible for quality control.

There would have to be a rule that users can only consume drugs that have been purchased with their own card and selling them on would be a serious crime.

I suggest that this regime would be first introduced for vaping products. It is a new sort of business and seems mostly to use specialist retail outlets. The new regime would see them issuing the new cards and, after an introductory period, have card only sales and no cash sales at all.

The system might be rolled out to other tobacco products, which are already sold from specialist kiosks. Their license be modified to use these cards only.

This would be followed by certain psycho-actives; antidepressants and stimulants and medicinal cannabis products, now readily available on the street, which I think could be made available from pharmacies.

Moving on to opioids will be more controversial but more necessary. Some could be supplied by pharmacies but others may need special shooting establishments.

I think the same card would be used for all these but would be separately licenced for each class of drug.

I think “party” drugs such as cocaine could be supplied, the problem is that social norms are to share. The same goes for tobacco and alcohol.

The premises might be kept separate for some of the drug types.

The key thing is that these places would be licenced and regularly inspected with the people serving registered and appropriately trained. All the drugs supplied would be from registered suppliers and the details of what is supplied to every individual user would be recorded.

Suitably anonymised data that would be made available to health researchers (but NOT to advertisers) to provide real evidence of just how harmful they are. This would be of benefit to all.

The essential aims are:

• Drugs are not being legalised only licenced.
• The war on drugs continues for unlicensed drugs
• Totally exclude criminal activity in any part of the supply chain and with it the huge social and economic cost of this activity.
• Make sure of the quality of the drugs, so that if a drug, particularly a new one, turns out to be unduly dangerous, the producer can be sued.
• To provide ample research data on showing just how harmful drugs are and to test alternatives or treatments.
• To create a regime in which users are accepted without victimisation but with no pretence that most drugs are other than harmful.
• However, for some users drugs may be self-medication that is less harmful than suicide.
• Make sure that front line suppliers are trained to suggest treatment where available.
• Puts the responsibility clearly on the user for exposing themselves to harm, along with climbing Everest, bad diet, unprotected sex, and rugby.

Above all to ensure that policy is evidence base