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Widdecombe defiant on drugs

Simon Gardner

BBC

Monday 16 Oct 2000


Ann Widdecombe has reaffirmed her commitment to zero tolerance of
drugs despite conceding that recent admissions by Tory colleagues had
overshadowed her anti-drugs strategy.

The shadow home secretary's comments came at the same time as a survey
which indicated that the majority of British voters believe that
cannabis is no worse than tobacco or alcohol.

The backlash over Ms Widdecombe's proposal for fixed penalty fines for
anyone caught in possession of drugs forced a U-turn by Tory leader
William Hague.

In what was a highly embarrassing episode for Miss Widdecombe, her
drugs policy announcement - a central part of her party conference
speech in Bournemouth - was dismissed as unworkable by police
organisations. Criticisms of the proposal included suggestions that
millions would receive criminal records for minor offences but Miss
Widdecombe stressed that a caution - commonly used by police for minor
drug offences - was technically a criminal record.

Insult was added to injury as eight Tory shadow cabinet members lined
up to confess to past experience of smoking cannabis.

But on Tuesday Miss Widdecombe told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that
she stood firm on "zero tolerance". And she said: "There is much more
involved to drugs policy than just the whole issue of whether a
student experiments with soft drugs.

"I am very sorry indeed that we got completely fixated on one small
aspect of an enormously serious problem."

Meanwhile Home Secretary Jack Straw indicated that the government
would continue to think about the issue of decriminalisation of
cannabis particularly for medical use. He conceded that the law would
not wipe out drug-taking but said it could regulate the problem.

"The point about making things unlawful is, hopefully, you eliminate
the behaviour altogether but in many of these things you don't but you
do control and regulate that behaviour," Mr Straw added.

 

 

 

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