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Letter: Call for drugs commission welcomed

Jack Girling

Evening News, Norwich

Thursday 21 Aug 1997

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May I congratulate Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton, who has bravely called
for a Royal Commission on drugs, after the unforgivable shooting of a
five-year old boy in his constituency.

Mr. Iddon has clearly seen the truth - that prohibition of drugs is a
failure. The incidents of drug-related violence and other crime, which
we are seeing in society, is identical to what happened in the USA
during the days of Prohibition of Alcohol, and would doubtlessly be seen
again if alcohol was again banned.

When a substance which is 'marketable', such as drugs, is made illegal,
it simply creates opportunities for massive illegal profits and
everything which goes alongside the protection of their businesses by
the crooks and gangsters who produce and sell the drugs. Greediness for
extra profit also means that the drugs can be cut with substances often
more dangerous than the drugs themselves, causing unnecessary illness
and death amongst users. These problems do not occur with alcohol and
tobacco. Recently the Ambassador from Afghanistan, where the possession
of drugs is not an offence, stated on TV that there was no problem with
drug use in his country, the problems start where the law steps in and
makes the supply illegal (that's called decriminalisation).

To have a society dependent on drugs (whether legal or illegal) is
obviously undesirable, but heavy-handed tactics will never work.

Now that we have a new Government, maybe they will listen to their
back-benchers, who may have less reason to hide their views than career
politicians. Norwich's new Labour MP's, Dr. Ian Gibson and Mr. Charles
Clarke, are, I am glad to say, amongst these back-benchers: both have
written stating their support for a full and open debate on the issue of
drugs. The sooner this debate happens the sooner positive and
non-repressive action against drug-taking (i.e. true education and
control), the sooner the crime rate will reflect the change.

Jack Girling, Alun Buffry

 

 

 

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