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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Editorial: And Test Them For Drugs
Sunday Times
Sunday 29 Oct 2000 Website: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/ ...AND TEST THEM FOR DRUGS Keith Hellawell's call for cabinet ministers and top civil servants to submit to random drug testing is as welcome as it is amusing. That the government's drug czar will not endear himself to Whitehall makes his suggestion all the more pertinent. Downing Street's ban on ministers answering questions about their past acquaintance with cannabis showed Tony Blair's growing fondness for a curtain of secrecy between us and the government. For once the Tories, with their drug-taking confessions, scored on candour and are none the worse for it. Government leaders are dangerously cocooned from the realities of ordinary existence. They live in a protective shell, cosseted by their staffs, transported by official cars, unaware of the pressures, restrictions and hassles most people have to put up with. Mr Hellawell is right; if drug tests are necessary for people lower down the chain of command in occupations where lives depend on their unimpaired judgment, those in charge should also be tested. Members of parliament are, of course, more at risk from alcoholic poisoning than narcotics. But they should also set an example by volunteering for drug tests. Those who agreed to random breath tests in the division lobbies would have even more kudos. MPs who dine too well usually make fools of themselves only if they are foolish enough to stand up and speak. The late Alan Clark aroused mirth when he wound up a debate by skipping the pages of his official text and slurring its grey prose. Snap drug and breath tests in Whitehall and Westminster might prompt an entirely new culture of power. Better decision-making, personal relationships and sounder policies might follow. Urine tests before cabinet meetings may be going too far but the principle is a good one. Prince Andrew did not hide behind his status when the Royal Navy asked him for a sample as a naval officer last year. Nor should those we trust to run the country. Predictably, Whitehall's initial response is sniffy. Officials ducked questions yesterday. Robin Cook's aide said the foreign secretary was "not here to have a bit of fun". How George Brown would have laughed. He once tipsily asked the Cardinal Archbishop of Lima to dance. He lost his job in the end.
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