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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: "War on drugs has simply not worked" says Cambridge MP Julian Huppert
Cambridge News Sunday 02 Nov 2014 Dr Huppert was one of the key contributors to this week’s debate in the House of Commons looking at reforming the country’s drugs system in the wake of a critical report by the Home Office. “My belief is that the so-called war on drugs has simply not worked,” Dr Huppert told the House. “What it has done is cause more harms than it has alleviated. That has been clear for quite a long time, and I and my party have long called for reform. “It is not about being hard on drugs or soft on drugs – it is about being smart on drugs and doing the right thing.” The report commissioned by the Lib Dems found no link between drug use and tougher laws in an international comparison. However, the debate caused a distinct split between the two parties in the coalition, with several Conservatives expressing concern about any relaxation of drug laws. Dr Huppert added: “Whether they are legal or illegal, and whether they are prescribed or not prescribed, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and heroin are all harmful things. They all cause harms – to people who take them, to other people and to society. “The model we have had for so long in this country and in many parts of the world has been based on the idea that when it comes to some substances – not tobacco and alcohol, but the other ones, for historical reasons – our aim should be to stop people taking them. “The idea is to reduce the number of users, rather than looking at the harms the substances cause. That is the wrong goal and it has not worked.” The debate was brought by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas. Dr Sarah Wollaston, a Conservative MP and chairman of the government’s health select committee, said: “I think the view we sometimes hear that we are losing the war on drugs is factually incorrect, and there are many markers.” http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/War-drugs-simply-worked-says-Cambridge-MP-Julian/story-23859717-detail/story.html
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