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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: 'The war on drugs was never going to work'
Andrew Johnson and Chris Cassidy Independent on Sunday
Sunday 17 Mar 2002 An IoS poll among well-known figures finds huge support for relaxing the law on cannabis Interviews by Andrew Johnson and Chris Cassidy Simon Jenkins: columnist "I'm enthusiastic about the findings. To say cannabis should be downgraded is like saying the wind should blow. It should be completely legalised, sold in shops, as in Amsterdam. The crucial thing is to separate the market for cannabis from that for heroin. I'd rather my children didn't smoke it, but then I'd rather they didn't smoke nicotine. It's better to control it than leave it to the black market." Alexei Sayle: comedian "Unlike alcohol, you can't savour the quality of drugs by taste, so some control is necessary. The important thing is to take the crime out of it." Michael Palin: comedian "Generally, it's a good thing to downgrade cannabis: it does not cause as much harm as alcohol. If we legalised all drugs it would put the pushers out of business." Jonathan Miller: theatre and film director "I suspect reclassification of cannabis is a good thing, simply because criminalising things makes criminals. The most serious problem is the harmful effect of drugs sold on the street and the crime it causes. They could go further and legalise it - that would be far better. If you say that, you get a reputation for being a survivor of the Sixties, but personally I can't stand the stuff. It would be better to decriminalise hard drugs, as well, when you think of the violence and the mutilating crime it causes." Jon Snow: C4 news presenter "As chairman of a homeless centre dealing with drug abuse, I've seen the law be a grave encumbrance to our work. A review is needed." Michael Holroyd: writer "It's a move in the right direction. One day it will be legalised - it's absurd to legalise alcohol and not cannabis. Licensing will improve the quality of drugs; they'll be less harmful." Joan Bakewell: broadcaster "Downgrading cannabis is a good idea. But it needs to be monitored very carefully. The war on drugs was not going to work because there was too much criminal cash involved. Decriminalisation would take that pressure away - the evidence suggests it'sthe sensible thing to do.We should take it slowly, slowly. People will be shocked and need reassuring that their children are not being put at risk. There is educational work to do."
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