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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Lilley calls for soft drug legalisation
Anne Perkins and Rebecca Allison The Guardian
Friday 06 Jul 2001 Cannabis should be legalised and available from government approved off-licences, Peter Lilley, the former deputy Tory leader says today. His call for the decriminalisation of soft drugs comes in a pamphlet published by the centre-right Social Market Foundation, where he argues that outlawing cannabis is "unenforceable and indefensible" in a country where alcohol and nicotine are legal. Mr Lilley, whose attempts to "move on from Thatcherism" got him the sack three years ago, urges the party to reform drug laws in order to effectively change its image. In his pamphlet, followed up with an interview in today's Daily Telegraph, he says that one of the biggest handicaps his party faced during the election was the perception that its policies were negative and punitive on crime and asylum seekers, as well as on drugs. "Nothing could more vividly dramatise reaffirmation of our belief in freedom and personal responsibilty than to move clearly in favour of liberalising the law on cannabis," he writes. He proposes licences for sale of cannabis issued through magistrates' courts, with a ban on under-18 sales and smoking in public places. He believes the drug should be taxed, and also that - like home brewing - growing it for personal consumption should be allowed. "I have tried deploying the arguments for criminalising cannabis in discussions with sixth formers, students and, come to that, their parents, in my constituency. "Whether I convinced any of them I don't know. But I invariably failed to convince myself. The arguments for prohibition crumble on close analysis," he writes. Describing the claimed health risks of moderate in dulgence in cannabis as bogus or exaggerated, Mr Lilley also dismisses the argument that its use is a gateway to harder drugs. "Soft drug users are forced into the arms of hard drug pushers precisely because both cannabis and hard drugs are available through the same channels," he argues. "Short of legalising the trade in cannabis entirely, the only way to stop driving soft drug users into the arms of the criminals who push hard drugs is to license some legal outlets to retail cannabis." It is less than a year since Ann Widdecombe, shadow home secretary, called for a zero tolerance policy on drugs. Although her ideas were ridiculed even by shadow ministers, several of who acknowledged they had experimented with drugs, officially, the party remains extremely cautious about change - as does the government. All five Tory leadership candidates last night on the BBC's Question Time expressed opposition to cannabis legalisation, while accepting it was easily available everywhere. Michael Portillo, whose bid is supported by Mr Lilley, did however agree that the party should review its policy.
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