To take something off somebody's hands means to take it away from someone who no longer wants it. A handout is something which has been handed out, so typically in an English class that would be your worksheet. Handy just means useful - you could say John is really handy because he can do lots of different jobs in the house. On one hand, legalizing soft drugs might make them safer but on the other hand, they may encourage people to take more and more drugs. The back of your hand is probably not very good for everybody... I know it like the back of my hand if you don't use it properly.