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UK: MP backs drugs inquiry call
The Western Mail
Wednesday 11 Apr 2001 The row over a Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate who suggested decriminalising Ecstasy continued to rumble on yesterday, with a senior party colleague claiming such action would be irresponsible. In an apparent reprimand for Gavin Cox, PPC for Rhondda, deputy local government minister Peter Black said the Lib-Dem policy of a Royal Commission on drugs was the correct approach, Having talked to a number of people and organisations dealing with drugs in South Wales I am clear in my own mind that Ecstasy is not a soft drug and can be a killer. 'Calls for it to be decriminalised are therefore irresponsible.' He said the Commission should include an examination of how drug laws were enforced, whether resources for the police, for education and rehabilitation were adequate and properly targeted and whether the current laws on drugs were appropriate and helped police tackle the problem effectively. 'This is not an issue where anybody benefits from a public slanging match,' said Mr Black, AM for South West, who works alongside Mr Cox, a party press officer, in the National Assembly. Wales has a substance misuse strategy as does England and Scotland and substantial resources are being put into tackling this issue. 'Yet, despite that, the problem is growing and is becoming ingrained into the culture of some communities, particularly amongst the young. 'There does need to be a public debate but there also has to be a rational and responsible examination of all the issues in a way that can only be achieved by a Royal Commission.' In the meantime, he suggested, the Assembly needs to review its own spending priorities to try and direct more resources into education and rehabilitation programmes. Mr Cox, who Labour had called on to resign, had suggested the decriminalisation of Ecstasy could help reduce deaths from harder drugs. Ecstasy and cannabis, he argued, should be regarded as 'soft' drugs and called for a fresh debate on the realities of drug misuse in Wales. Until yesterday, Mr Cox had appeared to have support from senior figures in the party. Chris Lines, Lib-Dem chief executive, had accused Labour of 'cheap knee-jerk reactions'. 'As soon as he [Mr Cox] sticks his head above the parapet and talks about this issue, Labour slaps him down,' Mr Lines had said.
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