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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: 61% Want Supply To Be State Controlled
David Seymour The Mirror
Monday 22 Nov 2004 NEARLY two in three people think recreational drugs should be controlled by the Government and given out by doctors and pharmacists, a Mirror poll has found. Our survey also found that 76 per cent of people think that Tony Blair is losing the war on drugs. An overwhelming 95 per cent want drug offenders to be dealt with in a different way - 48 per cent believe they should get compulsory treatment for their addiction. But 15 per cent said there should be tough sentences for all users. We commissioned the poll to discover the real views of the British people about drug-related crime sweeping the nation. Only seven per cent believe all drugs should be legalised and 10 per cent thought the same about soft drugs - that view is shared across all age groups, not just the young. That means almost one in five now think there is a case for legalising at least some drugs. Just over a quarter - 28 per cent - wanted drugs to remain illegal even if that meant leaving them in the hands of drugs gangs. People believe the police should concentrate on nailing the dealers - 31 per cent said the pushers, not the users, should be punished. The poll showed that there was little difference overall between people who believed legalising drugs, and so taking them out of the hands of criminals, would increase crime and those who thought it would go down. Young people tended to think it would reduce offences such as gun crime, burglary, car crime and prostitution. But there was a clear feeling that legalising drugs would result in more truancy and anti- social behaviour. ICM's research showed that people in social classes AB - the opinion-formers in top jobs - do believe that legalising drugs would cut many crimes. The poll also asked if the different drugs would ever be legalised and, those who thought they would, when it would be. In total, 49 per cent think cannabis will become legal within five years and more than three out of four think it will be in 10 years. Almost two out of three people say other drugs will never be made legal - though that does mean one in three think they will be legalised at some time in the next 20 years. ICM interviewed 1,036 adults across the country. The results were weighted to the profile of all adults.
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