THE war on drugs is lost. Wave white hankies in surrender and don’t punish junkies, pity them... group hug anyone?
Governments gamely pursuing a pretence of fighting drug use, abuse, dealing, trafficking and all associated crimes should award themselves a break. Give up the struggle, in fact. Legalise the lot, have a rest and collect a whopping great bonanza in taxes.
So says the Global Commission on Drug Policy – a group of politicians, former world leaders and assorted numpties clearly very bored with banging on about drugs when they could be at home watching football or, better still, standing for election to lucrative high office at FIFA.
They say current policies to tackle drug abuse and crime aren’t working. The war on drugs causes deaths and rampant lawlessness, they say and call for an end to the “criminalisation, marginalisation and stigmatisation of people who use drugs but who do no harm to others.”
So, out with punishments for child corruption and criminal control. Addicts need to be treated as patients, not villains. Counselling and cuddles, that’s the thing. This, of course, is the biggest load of eyewash since all-day opening was adopted as a weapon in the war to cut dangerous drinking. They lost that one too.
In fact, the few wars getting the thumbs-up now are the ones they wage viciously and relentlessly against tobacco users, people who drive cars and meat-eaters. Crack cocaine addicts? Leave them be, poor loves. Make any sense to you? Me neither.
There are a lot of numpties about – but none so dopey as the Global Drug Policy lot. Mind you, they got one thing right. The war on drugs – particularly in this country – was lost decades ago. But only because we couldn’t be bothered fighting.
Nobody in high places that mattered was interested in setting examples, creating role models, doing anything to deliver messages about the unacceptability of drugs.
Governments turned blind eyes, justice fell in love with celebrities in its dock – and let them go again – supermodels glamorised heroin as diet aids and toe-rags sold cocaine at school gates to children doomed to die. Not much of a war, was it?
A few weeks ago musician and self-destruction icon Pete Doherty was jailed for six months for possession of crack cocaine at a party where a young woman film-maker died from overdose. The singer has admitted possession of class A drugs on several occasions, making 13 court appearances in the past. A judge told him it couldn’t be right that he should escape prison after amassing such an “appalling record” of court appearances.
But he was allowed 13 appearances in court beforehand.
Pity not punishment? He had it in spades – and did it do him any good?
More than for the girl who died. Just one more fatality in a fake war nobody could be bothered to fight.
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