Pubdate: Thu, 30 Oct 2014
Source: Evening Standard (London, UK)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.standard.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/914
Author: Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor
Page: 2

CAMERON BLASTS LIB-DEMS IN DRUG BUST-UP

DAVID Cameron clashed with Nick Clegg today in a furious Coalition 
bustup over drugs policy.

In a surprisingly hard-hitting attack on the Liberal Democrats, 
Downing Street bluntly ruled out a "reckless" move towards 
decriminalisation. "The Lib-Dem policy would see drug dealers getting 
off scot-free and send an incredibly dangerous message to young 
people about the risks of taking drugs," a No 10 source said.

But Deputy Prime Minister Mr Clegg tore into his Coalition partners 
over a report on international drugs policy which the Lib-Dems claim 
the Conservatives have sought to suppress.

Arguing that it provided backing for a dramatic change in drugs 
policy, Mr Clegg accused the Tories of "ignoring the evidence" and 
thereby putting lives at risk . He added: "They need to explain to 
the British people why they think it's OK to carry on with an 
approach which is leading to 2,000 people losing their lives in this 
so-called war on drugs every year."

Lib-Dem Home Office minister Norman Baker, responsible for Coalition 
drug policy, said the new Home Office study on drug policies round 
the world was a "seminal report" which said there was no link between 
tough criminal penalties and lower drug use. He claimed this proved 
locking up drug users was a "nonsensical" policy.

He added that the evidence from the report was "so overwhelming that 
the present status quo is not tenable" and Britain's drug policies 
should be overhauled to focus on treating users instead of punishing 
them. Mr Clegg described the findings as a "wake-up call" to Mr 
Cameron and Ed Miliband that "the way we are doing things just 
doesn't make sense".

Mr Clegg added that he believed public opinion on drugs policy now 
supported a change in the law.

But despite support from charities and other campaigners, the Lib-Dem 
stance was denounced by Downing Street as "incredibly dangerous" .

Tory backbencher Michael Ellis accused Mr Baker and his Lib-Dem 
colleagues of "naked political posturing" and "hijacking" the 
report's findings in a "desperate" bid to boost his party's standing 
in the opinion polls.

But Mr Baker claimed the report, which has been ready for publication 
for several months, had been "suppressed by the Conservatives" 
because it contained some "inconvenient truths" about current drugs policies.

A separate Home Office report today called for a ban on the supply of 
so-called legal highs in a move that would lead to the closure of 
"head shops" in London and elsewhere.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom