Pubdate: Fri, 09 Mar 2007
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: 2007 Telegraph Group Limited
Contact:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/114
Author: Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor
Note: See The RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public 
Policy website http://www.rsadrugscommission.org and the 335 page 
report as a .pdf file at http://www.rsa.org.uk/acrobat/rsa_drugs_report.pdf

SHAKE-UP AIMS TO REPLACE 'FAILED' DRUG LAWS

An independent commission called for a fundamental overhaul of the
35-year-old strategy aimed at eradicating drug abuse entirely.

This could lead to casual drug users being left alone by police, who
would focus on pushers and serious criminals.

The report, from a body set up by the Royal Society for the
Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), said the law
was driven by "moral panic".

It suggested that harm caused by drugs had nothing to do with their
legality and the main aim of public policy should be to reduce the
amount of harm that drugs cause, not send people to jail.

The commission proposed replacing the Misuse of Drugs Act
1971 with a Misuse of Substances Act that reclassified drugs - legal
and illegal - according to the harm they do.

This would recognise that tobacco and alcohol can cause more damage
than some illegal substances. The report triggered a furious reaction,
with Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader who is reviewing party
policy on drugs, denouncing it as "worryingly complacent".

He said the suggestion that some drugs could be taken harmlessly was
misleading.

"The RSA grossly underplays the damage done to individuals and
society by the taking of psychoactive drugs."

Vernon Coaker, the drugs minister, said the 10-year strategy
introduced in 1998 had helped reduce drugs misuse and crime associated
with it. He said the present classification system would not be
changed. But the Government was not complacent and accepted the need
to expand treatment opportunities.

The police and drugs charities supported the idea that emphasis should
be placed on tackling criminal organisations pushing serious drugs
rather than the personal use of less harmful substances.

The commission sat for more than two years considering evidence of the
way drugs policy has worked in Britain and around the world.

Chaired by Prof Anthony King, of Essex University, its members
included John Yates, the Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner,
Joan Ruddock, a former Labour minister, as well as medical and
community workers with direct experience of drug abuse and the harm it
causes.

The report said: "The evidence suggests a majority who use drugs are
able to use them without harming themselves or others. The harmless
use of illegal drugs is thus possible, indeed common."

Prof King said present laws "passed when Edward Heath was prime
minister" had failed because the problems were far worse now.

Instead of "criminal justice bias", the RSA said treating addiction
should be seen as a health and social problem, not simply a cause of
crime.

David Blunkett, the former home secretary, said he hoped the report
would contribute to "a much more sensible debate" and he supported a
"substantial" expansion of the prescribing of heroin.

The Metropolitan Police said it supported the focus on the potential
harm of drugs and targeting organised crime.

[sidebar]

KEY POINTS OF THE REPORT

. Drugs should be reclassified according to the harm they do. Tobacco
and alcohol could be listed as more dangerous than some illegal substances.

. The lead role on policy should be taken by drugs teams and local
authorities rather than the Home Office.

. The police should target serious criminals rather than casual
users.

. Drugs policy should focus on harm reduction rather than cutting
crime.

. Addiction should be seen as a health and social problem.

. Drugs education should be centred on primary schools, not secondary
school pupils.

. "Shooting galleries" should be set up for users to inject drugs and
there should be wider access to prescription heroin.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake