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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Former diplomat says legalise drugs
The BBC
Wednesday 04 Jul 2001 The former UK ambassador to Colombia, Sir Keith Morris, has called for the legalisation of all drugs. Sir Keith, based in Bogota, notorious as a centre for cocaine production, said the war against drugs was "unwinnable, costly and counter-productive". His call, in the Guardian newspaper, comes just days after police in south London announced that they would no longer arrest people caught with small amounts of cannabis - but issue warnings instead. It also follows a Sunday newspaper article by former Cabinet Office minister Mo Mowlam, who used to have responsibility for drugs policy, in which she called for the decriminalisation of cannabis. On Monday, the government rejected claims that the pilot policing policy on cannabis in Lambeth amounted to decriminalisation. Instead, ministers insisted, it was about targeting resources, with the aim of focussing on hard drugs like crack and heroin. But Sir Keith Morris, who served in Bogota for four years from 1990 and is now retired, said that cannabis could be sold in a similar way to alcohol and tobacco - with hard drugs like heroin available to registered addicts through their GPs. "There will be cost, probably, initially at least, greater use and addiction and problems quite unforeseen," he said. "But the benefits to life, health and liberty of drug users and the life, health and property of the whole population would be immense," Sir Keith said.
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