Huge sections of the population dependent on hard drugs, a decline in work attendance and consequent economic problems, a decline in education standards, children being brought up in drug-dependent home environments, a rise in workplace (and traffic) accidents, a rise in debt for many families and households, a strain on the health service and social services. Generally, not a happy picture. As 123everton points out, 19th century China is a good example of what happens when hard drugs are made legal and wholesale.