[size=+1]Time to rethink Britain's drugs policy[/size]
Written by Henry Oliver (January 2011)
Friday, 21 January 2011 06:00
The US has effectively dropped the term 'War on Drugs', a tacit admission of that policy's failure. Here, Henry Oliver argues that Britain should learn from the rest of the world and its own history. The government should rethink its policies on drugs and find new policies that work.
Now that the American government has dropped the phrase ‘War on Drugs’ it’s time for Britain's government to re-think policy. Although the evidence is increasingly stacked against current policy, legislators and governments are blinded by conventional morality about drugs. The Home Office set out its stall recently in response to Professor Sir Ian Gilmore’s comments about the need to consider decriminalizing class-A drugs:
Drugs such as heroin, cocaine and cannabis are extremely harmful and can cause misery to communities across the country. The government does not believe that decriminalisation is the right approach. Our priorities are clear; we want to reduce drug use, crack down on drug-related crime and disorder and help addicts come off drugs for good.
And that’s it. Nothing more was said. One painfully self-evident sentence and two vapid chunks of politico blurb is the full extent of the response from this great office of state. Beliefs and priorities are insufficient: the Home Office needs to respond directly to the comments made by one of the most eminent physicians in the country, otherwise Ms May risks becoming yet another New Labour Home Secretary – acting contrary to, or seemingly in ignorance of, evidence and advice.
The simple belief that drugs are bad and should be banned is harmful and misguided. It doesn’t deal with some very plain facts. The Association of Chief Police Officers recently said that, ‘between 2004 and 2007, 800 cannabis factories a year were being uncovered by police. That rose to over 3000 a year in 2007/08 and over 6800 in 2009/10.’ Apparently this is good news for the law-enforcement policy. However, this belies the scale of drug cultivation and use, which is much higher than previously thought. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Anyone who watched Angus Macqueen’s excellent series of programms on Channel 4 recently will be able to recall some of the astonishing statistics revealed. The most startling being that of all the heroin that enters Scotland only 1% is detected by HMC.
Full article: http://www.adamsmith.org/think-piec...rties/time-to-rethink-britain's-drugs-policy/
Written by Henry Oliver (January 2011)
Friday, 21 January 2011 06:00
The US has effectively dropped the term 'War on Drugs', a tacit admission of that policy's failure. Here, Henry Oliver argues that Britain should learn from the rest of the world and its own history. The government should rethink its policies on drugs and find new policies that work.
Now that the American government has dropped the phrase ‘War on Drugs’ it’s time for Britain's government to re-think policy. Although the evidence is increasingly stacked against current policy, legislators and governments are blinded by conventional morality about drugs. The Home Office set out its stall recently in response to Professor Sir Ian Gilmore’s comments about the need to consider decriminalizing class-A drugs:
Drugs such as heroin, cocaine and cannabis are extremely harmful and can cause misery to communities across the country. The government does not believe that decriminalisation is the right approach. Our priorities are clear; we want to reduce drug use, crack down on drug-related crime and disorder and help addicts come off drugs for good.
And that’s it. Nothing more was said. One painfully self-evident sentence and two vapid chunks of politico blurb is the full extent of the response from this great office of state. Beliefs and priorities are insufficient: the Home Office needs to respond directly to the comments made by one of the most eminent physicians in the country, otherwise Ms May risks becoming yet another New Labour Home Secretary – acting contrary to, or seemingly in ignorance of, evidence and advice.
The simple belief that drugs are bad and should be banned is harmful and misguided. It doesn’t deal with some very plain facts. The Association of Chief Police Officers recently said that, ‘between 2004 and 2007, 800 cannabis factories a year were being uncovered by police. That rose to over 3000 a year in 2007/08 and over 6800 in 2009/10.’ Apparently this is good news for the law-enforcement policy. However, this belies the scale of drug cultivation and use, which is much higher than previously thought. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Anyone who watched Angus Macqueen’s excellent series of programms on Channel 4 recently will be able to recall some of the astonishing statistics revealed. The most startling being that of all the heroin that enters Scotland only 1% is detected by HMC.
Full article: http://www.adamsmith.org/think-piec...rties/time-to-rethink-britain's-drugs-policy/
