New report out claiming that it is possible to take heroin and lead a reasonably normal life. More on the report is here.

"However, this study shows that the chemical properties of specific
substances, including heroin, should not be assumed to inevitably lead
to addictive and destructive patterns of drug use. Drug research should
incorporate this previously hidden population to more fully inform
theory and practice. Psychological and social factors have to be taken
into account when looking at how to deal with any form of addiction,
including heroin addiction. When responding to drug use and drug
problems, we should be looking at the person involved, and also the
broader social environment. This is well recognised within drug
treatment, and should be more widely recognised. To simply focus on a
particular drug, be it heroin or alcohol, is unhelpful in terms of
treatment and intervention, and criminal justice policy. To make bold
statements about the War in Drugs helps nobody who actually has a
problem in this domain."

In essence, hysterical screaming about one use of a Class A drug inevitably leading to a scrawny corpse in the gutter is stupid. There may indeed be valid arguments for legalisation, the drug itself not being the root of all evil. Of course, for challenging the orthodoxy in this manner  the scientists are abused in no uncertain terms:

Opposition politicians and anti-drug campaigners said
the report was misleading and a waste of public money. Alistair Ramsay,
of Scotland Against Drugs added: "Anyone reading this who thinks they
can take heroin safely would be wrong.

"In
Scotland, we have 55,800 heroin users who are clearly unable to
function as normal so it cannot be assumed that the findings have
universal application."

Lord Adebowale, chief
executive of the alcohol and drug organisation Turning Point, said:
"This report isn’t saying that heroin is safe. It says that if you have
a job, if you have a house, an income, are well educated and have a
health system to support you, it’s possible to survive an addiction to
a pretty serious substance. Most people don’t have this and have mental
health challenges as well as a heroin problem."

Shona
Robison, the Scottish National Party’s health spokesman, said the
research, by a team at Glasgow Caledonian University, seemed "like a
waste of money".

Or, if you prefer, "nah nah nee nah nah, we can’t hear you".