|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
The Drugs Debate
Staff Reporter The News & Star, Cumbria
Monday 23 Dec 2002 SUPPORT for ending drugs prohibition is gathering strength across Cumbria. There is a strong feeling among the more liberal-minded that legalising cannabis and allowing doctors to supply heroin to addicts would cut crime and help solve drug-related problems. The Government's attitude to drugs has changed recently. Home Secretary David Blunkett announced earlier this month that heroin would now be available on the NHS to all those with a clinical need for it. And in August cannabis had its status downgraded. Former Carlisle mayor Colin Paisley, who was prescribed heroin for medical reasons for 20 years, and who has stood twice for the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, supports the softening of drugs laws. He said that heroin allowed him to carry out a normal life. "It was of medical benefit to me - I was able to do a responsible job," he said. "And I would prefer people to get their drugs from a medical source rather than going to a dealer." He does not believe that making the substances legal would encourage more people to indulge in recreational drug-taking. He said: "Making it legal takes away the novelty value. Alcohol is far more dangerous and far more readily available." But there are still those who think the law should send out a message that drug-taking is wrong. Dave Smith, who founded West Cumbrian drugs aid charity Rising Sun Trust in memory of his son Ryan, a drug addict who died in 1999 aged 18, said that downgrading drugs would send the wrong message to young people. "I don't think that drug laws should be repealed. If anything they should be more stringent. Decriminalising cannabis or bringing it down in the rankings gives the wrong message to young people. "The kids perceive that it must be okay because it's legal. "If we were now in a position to legalise alcohol and cigarettes, knowing the damage to health they cause and the violence alcohol causes, would we legalise them?" Cumbria police acknowledge that drugs do create crime in the county. Chief Constable Michael Baxter recently warned that crack-cocaine, a highly addictive drug which has led to crime rates trebling in other parts of the UK, has been seized across the county on a handful of occasions recently. But the force does not only target suppliers and enforce drugs laws as they stand. The police also recognise the importance of rehabilitating those who have become addicted, and work to educate people on the dangers of drug use. Many campaigners say that legalising substances would reduce the drugs crime which flourishes under prohibition. Dealers Paul Brown, director of Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Advisory Services (CADAS), believes the Government's attempts to stem the tide of illegal substances sweeping across Britain has failed and it is time to try something new. He said:"We are losing the war on drugs. The money we throw at stopping them coming in only prevents a small percentage. The only people making money are the drug dealers. "Prohibition doesn't stop people using drugs. If you look at America in the Twenties, prohibition did not stop people drinking. It only means that people cannot get help. "We have tried one way - now it might be time for a radical new move." North West MEP Chris Davies has now added his weight to the campaign by signing a declaration, along with 100 other MEPs, for Government regulation and licensing to replace prohibition. He also wants existing UN drug control conventions which aim to prevent drug trafficking and abuse to be repealed. Mr Davies, who has never used illegal drugs, was last month fined 100 with 3,500 costs at Manchester Crown Court for possessing cannabis during a rally last year. He had produced the drug to stir up public debate and promote change in Government policy. He said today that prohibition was the cause of many drug problems - not the solution. "Lives of drug users are being lost unnecessarily while the drugs barons are laughing all the way to the bank," said Mr Davies.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!