Pubdate: Fri, 31 Oct 2014
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited
Contact:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Patrick Wintour, Political editor
Page: 6

CAMERON AND CLEGG SPLIT OVER DRUGS POLICY

Prime Minister Rejects New Call for Decriminalisation

Lib Dems Condemn Tories' 'Backward-Looking View'

David Cameron yesterday set his face against a change in UK drugs 
policy after the Liberal Democrat crime-prevention minister Norman 
Baker hailed a Home Office-commissioned report finding "no obvious" 
link between tough laws and levels of illegal drug use.

Baker, minister responsible for drugs, said the report meant the 
genie was out of the bottle and was not going back in. He said: "I 
think the days of robotic, mindless rhetoric are over, because the 
facts and the evidence will no longer allow that."

The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, also urged the Tories to have 
the courage to break taboos, arguing jail for possession of soft 
drugs should be scrapped and resources focused on "punishing criminal 
networks, pushers and Mr Bigs".

He added: "I think the Tories have a backward-looking, outdated view 
that the public would not accept a smarter approach on how to deal 
with drugs. The argument I have made to them privately and publicly 
is, 'pluck up the courage to face up to the evidence that what we are 
doing is not as effective as it should be, there are lessons we can 
learn from other countries, and if you are anti-drugs you should be 
pro-reform.'"

However, Cameron said: "I don't think anyone can read that report and 
say it definitely justifies this approach or that approach, but the 
evidence is what we're doing is working. I don't believe in 
decriminalising drugs that are illegal today. I'm a parent with three 
children; I don't want to send out a message that somehow taking 
these drugs is OK or safe."

He added: "Under this government, drug use is falling and I think 
that is because we have followed an evidence-based approach. We've 
been focusing on education, prevention and treatment, and that is the 
right approach to take."

A No 10 statement rounded on Clegg: "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."

The 60-page report compared UK drug laws with those of other 
countries, including those that have decriminalised drug use, such as 
Portugal. It found use of illegal substances was influenced by 
factors "more complex and nuanced than legislation and enforcement 
alone". It said: "There is no apparent correlation between the 
'toughness' of a country's approach and the prevalence of ... drug use."

The research was commissioned after the coalition was unable to agree 
on setting up a royal commission on drugs. Baker accused Downing 
Street of suppressing the comparison report for months because it did 
not like the conclusions.

However, even Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert agreed the report 
was not totally conclusive. In a Commons debate he told MPs: 
"Although there is a serious gap where some of the conclusions ought 
to be ... it is very clear. Sounding tough does not matter. The 
rhetoric does not make any difference."

Labour's home affairs spokeswoman, Diana Johnson, said the Lib Dems 
were "trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Drug possession 
on its own is rarely the cause of a custodial sentence".

She claimed the government had cut back spending on drug treatment 
saying: "In 2010, UK was a world leader in providing good-quality 
drug treatment and reducing drug harm. Over the last four years drug 
treatment is becoming harder to access and in some areas it is 
virtually non-existent."

The Conservative chair of the health select committee, Dr Sarah 
Wollaston, said she wanted to see the evidence from the US of the 
effect of decriminalisation, adding that cannabis use had harmed some 
young people. She pointed out that figures from Office for National 
Statistics showed the level of class A drug use among young 
people  16 to 24-year-olds  had fallen by nearly a half, from 9.2% in 
1996 to 4.8% in 2012-13.

Regarding legal highs, Baker said the government would look at the 
feasibility of a blanket ban on new compounds of psychoactive drugs 
that focused on dealers and the "head shops" that sell tobacco 
paraphernalia, rather than on users.

"The head shops could be left with nothing to sell but Rizla papers," 
Baker said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom