I hate to admit it, but there seems little point trying to hide the obvious. We’re losing the war on death.

Despite billions of dollars spent on health care every year, people are still dying. The experts tell us that despite our best efforts, death is inevitable.

In spite of this, I don’t hear people calling for a cut in health spending. Nor do I hear people calling for the closure of medical centres and hospitals.

It is a curious situation because we are also losing the war on drugs, and that revelation always brings calls for radical changes to our approach.

NSW Greens drug law reform spokesperson Cate Faehrmann argued this week that since we were “losing the war on drugs”, small amounts of illicit drugs should be permitted for personal use.

It’s a strange argument since we are also losing the war on speeding, domestic violence and theft but I don’t hear anyone calling for those kinds of behaviours to be permitted.

Faehrmann told the ABC: “Young people have been harassed for too long in NSW for simply doing something that almost half of us have done in our lifetimes, and that is use an illegal drug.”

Well sure. And almost all of us think there are only two genders, but the Greens will harass you to the ends of the earth if you say so. But I digress.

Another NSW Greens MP, David Shoebridge, insisted the decriminalisation of drugs would “reduce unnecessary and aggressive policing of minor drug offences”.

He has a point. Nothing reduces the need for policing like decriminalising criminal behaviour. Clearly you don’t get to be a Greens MP unless you’re as sharp as a needle.