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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Ministers are losing battle on drugs trade, charities warn
David Batty and agencies The Guardian
Tuesday 03 Dec 2002 The government's revamped drugs strategy is a poor attempt to disguise the failures of its outdated policies, drug charities declared today. Thinktank Transform, a drug policy institute, said the home secretary, David Blunkett's abandonment of the target to slash hard drug use by half by 2004 reflected that ministers were losing the battle to control the availability of drugs. "There is nothing new in the strategy that will take the trade out of the hands of organised crime and unregulated dealers," said Transform's spokesman, Steve Rolles. The thinktank, which campaigns for the decriminalisation of drugs, said the proposal to measure the scope of drug misuse by the amount of seizures by the police and customs was "a positive spin on a total disaster". Mr Rolles said: "There is no correlation between increased seizures and decreased availability. "The government should be measuring the street price of drugs, which is falling, and the purity of them, which is rising. This reflects rising availability, which is backed up by what we hear from drug users." Campaigners welcomed the strategy's shift towards more education, prevention and support services for the most serious drug users, young people and their families. Announcing a further 573m pound investment in drug treatment services over the next three years, Mr Blunkett said: "Provision of treatment is still far too patchy and variable and accessing treatment, a lengthy and difficult process. "Services will be expanded so those chaotic drug users seeking help do not have to wait." A schools education programme highlighting the risks posed by heroin and crack cocaine will be launched next year, while drug testing and treatment services for young offenders will be expanded. Roger Howard, the chief executive of the charity Drugscope, welcomed "the focus on the most problematic drugs, the new resources, a move to a more holistic treatment model, targeted help for young people and an emphasis on crack treatment". But he expressed regret that the government had not been "more bold". "Important opportunities to save lives have been missed by refusing to back harm minimisation schemes such as safe injecting rooms," said Mr Howard. Drugscope criticised the continuing confusion about the policy on cannabis. While the drug has been downgraded from Class B to Class C, the new criminal justice bill will increase penalties for Class C drugs and make possession of them an arrestable offence. "We are worried that the continuing arrestability of cannabis will lead to valuable resources being wasted on those possessing small amounts of the least harmful drugs," said Mr Howard.
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