In the 80ies Zurich, Switzerland had a really bad problem with Heroin addicts and the related crimes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platzspitz_park). The problem went away completely and instantly when the state began issuing Heroin to addicted people in a controlled environment. Now that park is back to being one of the nicest places in the city.
The english Wikipedia article unfortunately doesn't talk about that program but only about "... and in 1992, police moved in to clear up the park..." which did clean the park but did nothing to solve the problem - the addicts and associated crime just crossed the river.
The only real fix for the issue was to destroy the market by just handing out the drug freely.
The english Wikipedia article unfortunately doesn't talk about that program but only about "... and in 1992, police moved in to clear up the park..." which did clean the park but did nothing to solve the problem - the addicts and associated crime just crossed the river.
The only real fix for the issue was to destroy the market by just handing out the drug freely.