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UK: Cameron and Clegg at war over drugs: PM insists policy is 'working' but deputy says it is failing 'on industrial scale' Matt Chorley Daily Mail Friday 14 Dec 2012 In an explosive interview Mr Clegg claimed the government is losing the war against drugs 'on an industrial scale' and told Mr Cameron to 'pluck up courage' to set up a Royal Commission into decriminalising possession of some substances. But the Prime Minister is furious at the idea, remaining adamant that existing policy is working and there will be no change in the government's approach. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the war on drugs had failed, costing 2,000 lives a year and making billions for criminals Downing Street today insisted Britain has a 'policy that is working'. A spokesman added: Drug use is coming down.' But Mr Cameron is flatly contradicted by Mr Clegg, who says Britain is 'losing' the war on drugs, costing 2,000 lives a year and generating billions of pounds for criminals. The split comes after a year-long parliamentary inquiry urged the government to establish a powerful Royal Commission into drug laws - which Mr Clegg is backing. The row is embrassing for Mr Cameron, because in 2002 he was a member of the committee when it proposed reclassifying ecstasy. Speaking at an EU summit in Brussels, Mr Cameron said: 'I have said all sorts of things about drugs policy over the years. I think change was needed to the approach we took on drugs. 'We need a much greater emphasis on treatment, on getting people off drugs and able to lobe drug free lives, an emphasis on better education, much more action on drugs in prisons and making sure people can get treatment for drugs in prisons. 'The government I think has got a good record on this. The Deputy Prime Minister is entirely entitled to take a view for the next election and beyond, going further and supporting a Royal Commission. 'I don’t rule out taking more steps but I don’t personally think a Royal Commission is the answer and I don’t support decriminalising any drugs which are currently illegal.' This week the home affairs select committee said ministers should consider legalising cannabis and examine Portuguese laws where cocaine and heroin users escape prosecution. In a direct challenge to the PM, Mr Clegg said: 'We are losing the war on drugs on an industrial scale. 'In politics, as in life, you can’t keep on doing something that doesn’t work. You can’t keep repeating the same mistakes,' he told The Sun. He has ordered Lib Dem Home Office minister to make a fact-finding trip to Portugal to see how 'depenalisation' laws work in practice. A poll in The Sun showed three in five people back a major review of drugs law, with legalisation being an option. Mr Clegg added: 'If you were waging any other war where you have 2,000 fatalities a year, your enemies are making billions in profits, constantly throwing new weapons at you and targeting more young people — you’d have to say you are losing and it’s time to do something different. 'I’m anti-drugs - it’s for that reason I’m pro reform.' Mr Clegg held a meeting with Mr Cameron this week, where the pair clashed over the government response to the committee’s report. Mr Clegg, who insists he is not advocating full-scale legalisation, said: 'I was disappointed that the Home Office ruled out an open-minded, level-headed look at all this before the ink had even dried on the committee report. 'I told the Prime Minister that this was a missed opportunity. 'He knows my views on this. He and I don’t agree on this.' In the interview Mr Clegg even appeared to accuse Mr Cameron of lacking the 'courage' to tackle Britains drug problem. 'For too long, people in politics have worried that saying something differently can somehow look like you’re being soft,' Mr Clegg said. 'It’s important now to pluck up the courage to speak out.' The Deputy PM attacked 'a conspiracy of silence' in Westminster, claiming politicians admit the war on drugs is not working 'but when they’re in government, they say everything is fine'. 'We’ve got to level with the British people and tell them what many people already know — it’s time to do something different.' Mr Clegg also revealed former Mexican president Felipe Calderon had privately admitted to him last year that a brutal military war against drugs barons, which has claimed 60,000 lives so far, had been lost. The Deputy PM added: 'He said to me, "It’s not working. We can’t win against these odds".' The Home Affairs committee called on ministers to consider adopting the Portuguese system, under which possession of small amounts of drugs - even Class As such as heroin and cocaine - is not a criminal offence. Instead users can be handed a spot fine or have their passport taken away, and addicts are encouraged to seek treatment. However the inquiry was criticised in some quarters for calling a number of 'celebrity witnesses' including comedian Russell Brand and Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson. Home Office minister Mr Browne, an ally of Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, refused to criticise the report and agreed to visit Portugal. He said ministers were ‘open minded’ about what to do about drugs. But Mr Cameron was quick to insist he did not back a change in the law. ‘I don’t support decriminalisation. We have a policy which actually is working in Britain. 'Drugs use is coming down, the emphasis on treatment is absolutely right, and we need to continue with that to make sure we can really make a difference. Also, we need to do more to keep drugs out of our prisons. ‘These are the Government’s priorities and I think we should continue with that rather than have some very, very long-term Royal Commission.’ However, when a backbench Tory MP in 2002, Mr Cameron was a member of the home affairs committee when it called for a reclassification of ecstasy. Mr Cameron said at the time of the report: 'I hope that our report will encourage fresh thinking and a new approach. We need to get away from entrenched positions and try to reduce the harm that drugs do both to users and society at large.' http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2247946/Nick-Clegg-says-war-drugs-lost-industrial-scale.html
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