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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Labour ex-minister enjoyed drugs Liz Lightfoot BBC Wednesday 11 Oct 2000 A former Labour minister has admitted that he used cannabis at university and enjoyed it. Jon Owen Jones, who was a junior minister at the Welsh Office until last year, said that he and his friends had smoked dope on several occasions at university. "I smoked it on several social occasions when I was a student and a young man as did many of my friends and colleagues," he said. "I would not have taken it more than once if I did not like it." Mr Jones is the first Labour ex-minister to join a growing list of politicians from all parties who have admitted they used the drug. Eight Conservative shadow cabinet ministers have said they used marijuana when they were students. That undermined the tough line on drugs taken by Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe at the Conservative Party conference and has sparked a debate about the decriminalisation of the drug. Mr Jones said it was now time to consider that course of action. "It is time we had the courage to confront the absurdity of making criminals of millions of our young whilst so many of us smoke and drink ourselves to an early grave." "I am not arguing that cannabis is not harmful, but the greatest harm it does is make an ass of the law and provide billions of pounds to the modern mafias." Home Secretary Jack Straw, however, has made it clear that the government would continue to treat cannabis as an illegal drug. But Mr Jones says that such an attitude is hypocritical and will alienate young people. "It seemed to me then that society was highly hypocritical in judging this activity to be illegal whilst it tolerated and indeed promoted, the consumption of alcohol and tobacco which are proven to be far more harmful," he said. "Today a very high proportion of young people will also smoke cannabis. They, too, will view older society as hypocritical," he added.
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