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Labour MPs back debate on drug use Graeme Wilson The Scotsman Tuesday 12 Aug 1997 from the party's back-benches for a debate on decriminalising some drugs. Their support for wide-ranging discussions on how best to tackle the spiralling use of drugs increased the discomfort of ministers, who have repeatedly ruled out the possibility of legalising some "soft" drugs. One of the MPs, Ian Davidson, urged people to engage in an open and honest debate, adding that it was clear "pursuing the route of criminalisation is a dead end for us" The intervention of Mr Davidson, the MP for Glasgow Pollok, and one of his colleagues, John McAllion, followed a call for action by a Labour MP from Bolton, where Dillon Hull, 5, was killed in a drug-related shooting last week. Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton South East, said all the options for addressing the illegal use of drugs, including decriminalisation, had to be fully explored and called for a Royal commission on drugs to be set up. As the pressure for new thinking mounted yesterday, a Home Office minister, Alun Michael, made clear that decriminalisation was not on the Government's agenda. In a blunt rejection of the comments by Mr Iddon and other Labour MPs, he said: "We don't believe that decriminalisation would add to the quiver of means that society has to tackle these problems and it would send out entirely the wrong signal." Mr Davidson argued that people had to explore candidly issues such as decriminalisation before deciding whether or not it would work. "I'm aware from my contacts with young people that there's an enormous gap in perception between how my generation - and those who are older - and how young people see drugs. Many young people view them in the same way as my generation would have viewed alcohol or tobacco," he said. "Criminalising all drugs obviously has huge policing implications but it also draws young people who use these drugs into crime and serves to discredit the whole criminal justice system in the eyes of these young people." Mr Davidson said he hoped that other MPs would voice their support for a full and frank debate on the drugs problem. "It may well be that after a debate we decide to reaffirm the existing position of banning all drugs, but at least that decision will be based on facts and knowledge and hopefully will be more widely accepted." Mr McAllion, MP for Dundee East, voiced his support for a Royal commission. However, he added that a Scottish parliament would be able to grasp the initiative if action to foster a genuine debate on drugs was not taken at a UK-level. He argued that a Royal commission would help to remove the debate from the political pressure surrounding drugs. Their comments were echoed by the outspoken Labour MP for Newport West, Paul Flynn, who said that the use of illegal drugs and the deaths linked to them would continue to rise unless a new approach was taken. "The best chance of reducing drug abuse is to collapse the present illegal, irresponsible criminal black market and replace it with a legal market that can be rigorously policed, regulated and controlled," Mr Flynn said.
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