> drug criminalisation makes recreational drug use a lot less safe than it could be were it legal and regulated

This is debatable. Here's a legal drug that kills 3 million people a year

https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/medical-conditio...

Here's another that kills 7 million people per year

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast...

Note that I'm mostly for legalized drugs. I just have heard this data and I don't have an answer to it. My impression is I just take it on faith that less criminalization will be a net positive but I don't know that's for sure.