Blairite Thinktank Calls For Centres To Test Purity The war on drugs has failed and should be replaced with an attack on poverty and joblessness, according to a report from a Blairite thinktank. The Foreign Policy Centre report also suggests public points be provided where the purity and hence safety of could be tested, and calls for the employment agency to make it easier for addicts trying to quit to claim benefits. The report is written by Rowena Young, who has close connections with Downing Street. She argues that soaring drug dependency statistics show the inadequacy of the government's attempt to clamp down, since it focuses disproportionately on the users of soft drugs rather than successfully convicting pushers of heroin and cocaine. [continues 460 words]
Michael Portillo's agenda for modernising the Conservative party was challenged by rivals last night after a second supporter from the libertarian right backed calls for the legalisation of cannabis. Alan Duncan, MP for Rutland and Melton, joined the former deputy party leader Peter Lilley to condemn the 30-year-old ban on the drug. As Mr Lilley's call for the legalisation and regulation of the sale of cannabis was attacked by other senior Tories, evidence surfaced of wider disquiet about the shape of party policy under a Portillo leadership. [continues 68 words]
The mood on cannabis legalisation has been transformed. After 30 years of imperceptible progress, two ex-cabinet ministers have backed the idea within a week. Yesterday it was Peter Lilley. Last Sunday Mo Mowlam, who as Cabinet Office minister was responsible for drug policy until the election, called the current level of debate "a farce". She said there was confusion and hypocrisy when police in Brixton adopted a low-key approach while other forces applied the law, and when court penalties varied widely. She called for the wholesale legalisation and regulation of the cannabis trade. [continues 414 words]
