Sunday 29 September 2013

Outbreak of common sense...

... in Durham:

Class A drugs should be decriminalised and drug addicts "treated and cared for not criminalised", according to a senior UK police officer.

Writing in the Observer, Chief Constable Mike Barton of Durham Police said prohibition had put billions of pounds into the hands of criminals.

He called for an open debate on the problems caused by drugs.

The Home Office reiterated its stance and said drugs were illegal because they were dangerous.

11 comments:

Graeme said...

I wishI could understand why the British government refuses to consider any approach to this "problem" other than that of fuelling the drug trade. but then, on the other hand, it mirrors their approach to the housing "problem" and the climate change "problem".

Mark Wadsworth said...

G, apparently it's not just myopia and group think, it's because the UN and the USA say so, so everybody else falls into line.

Apart from the many countries, or even states within the USA who have broken rank and discovered that if you legalise or de-criminalise a bit, then nothing terrible happens and overall, the good effects outweigh the bad.

It's not "perfect" all of a sudden, but it is "a bit better", which is good enough for me.

We can apply the same logic to climate change and house prices.

Lola said...

"The Home Office reiterated its stance and said drugs were illegal because they were dangerous." That really is the most insufferably stupid remark. If so why aren't motor cycles illegal?

A K Haart said...

"The Home Office reiterated its stance and said drugs were illegal because they were dangerous."

Missing the point of course, but I'm sure the HO doesn't care how obvious it is.

chefdave said...

On financial grounds alone I'm surprised the gov't hasn't legalised it yet just so they can tax it and then squander the money on unproductive public sector non-jobs.

George Carty said...

Isn't full legalization of cannabis impossible due to an international treaty?

Graeme said...

Mr carty that is one of the reasons..but then cocaine was legal until one of those peculiar international treaties in the 20s - you can see US films where people go into a drugstore and return holding thier nostrils. And those films were made while alcohol was prohibited....go figure

Mark Wadsworth said...

L, AKH, it seems that a lot of people still go along with it. My Mrs certainly does, she cannot countenance the fact that making drugs illegal just makes everything a lot worse.

CD, better to do the right thing for the wrong reasons and the wrong thing with a supposedly noble motive.

Mr C, International treaties (usually imposed by the USA) are there to be broken, and there are even a couple of US states where cannabis is at least semi-legal.

G, it doesn't figure, does it?

Bayard said...

"If so why aren't motor cycles illegal?"

I'm sure that there are people in the Home Office who think they should be.

Lola said...

B

True.

But, luckily, people in the Department of Health like motorcyclists - they look on them as organ donors...

Richard T said...

You could quite reasonably turn the fatuous statement from the Home Office round and say 'Drugs are dangerous because they are illegal.'