Pubdate: Wed, 12 Dec 2012
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited
Contact:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Caroline Lucas
Page: 35

PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL COSTS OF A FAILED DRUGS POLICY

The home affairs select committee report calling for a complete 
rethink of the UK's failing drug laws is a welcome injection of 
common sense. Sadly, the fact that the prime minister dismissed it 
out of hand suggests that ministers are still running scared on the 
issue, even as the public mood and expert view continues to shift 
(David Cameron urged to take 'now or never' step on drugs reform, 10 December).

This kneejerk rejection is disappointing and irresponsible. As the 
committee points out, the "principal aim of government drugs policy 
should be ... to minimise the damage caused to the victims of 
drug-related crime, drug users and others". Yet the UK is spending 
around UKP3bn and sentencing 42,000 people every year under a drugs 
policy that lacks co-ordination, fails to prioritise public health 
and is often self-defeating.

There is now growing agreement that the "war on drugs" has failed and 
we need to move away from prohibition of personal use towards an 
evidencebased, public-health approach, within a regulated 
environment. This goes further than decriminalisation and is the only 
way to effectively address the supply side of the equation. That's 
why, as well as learning from countries like Portugal, the proposed 
royal commission should also be considering alternatives to 
prohibition, such as the ambitious routes taken by some South 
American countries. In Brighton and Hove, we have already set up a 
commission to examine drugs policy and addiction treatment in the 
city, taking the views of experts and practitioners.

Finally, in light of the intense pressures on the public purse, we 
need an urgent review of the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act, with a full 
cost-benefit analysis and impact assessment to compare its 
effectiveness in reducing the societal, economic and health costs of 
drug misuse with other approaches.

Caroline Lucas MP

Green, Brighton Pavilion
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom