British Government Asks Parliament for Shift in Drug Policy 12/28/01

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Adding further momentum to the ongoing reversal of Britain's US-style drug polices, the Labor government of Prime Minister Tony Blair has told Parliament it wants to adopt a Dutch-style drug policy with prescription heroin for addicts and an end to prosecution of people growing cannabis for their personal use.

Ministers from the Home Office told Parliament last week that the government had reversed its hard-line stance toward prosecuting drug users, and Minister Bob Ainsworth said the new policy would include:

  • Adopting a harm reduction approach to drugs that would emphasize drug treatment rather than prosecution of drug users. The London Observer noted on Sunday that the move could be a prelude to "effectively decriminalizing the possession of drugs."
  • Advising high police officials to concentrate on drug trafficking, not drug users, and asking them to "pay the highest regard to the more serious crimes of trafficking and possession with intent to supply."
  • New measures to prescribe heroin to addicts.
Officials from the Department of Health, meanwhile, told Parliament's science and technology select committee that police should not prosecute people who grow cannabis for personal use, the Observer reported. This marks a real break with the government's former position. Two years ago, the Home Office recommended to the Runciman inquiry into drug laws that marijuana growers be jailed for up to 14 years.

These remarkable statements by government ministers have drawn the praise of some drug reformers. The British charity DrugScope (http://www.drugscope.org.uk) called the new emphasis on harm reduction "a pragmatic and sensible step. The government has recognized that a crime-led response to drug use has not been effective and that other options must be explored," said DrugScope director Roger Howard. "If this includes lesser punishments for the cultivation of cannabis for personal use, thereby diverting trade away from organized crime, so much the better."

A Home Office spokesman said the measures were in line with the posture announced last month by Home Secretary David Blunkett, but they are the latest step in a surprisingly rapid turnaround from the Blair government's rejection of drug policy reform.

Still, the Home Office is drawing the line at cannabis cafes. The Home Office "does not want to encourage people to smoke cannabis," a spokesman told the Observer. "We recognize that people will always want to take drugs. We want to make sure they have the information and help to ensure their safety."

But with the forces of drug prohibition in full retreat in Britain, it remains to be seen whether Blair and Blunkett can blunt the drive for the cafes.

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Issue #217, 12/28/01 Editorial: Doing Our Part for a Safer World | DRCNet Plans for 2002/Year-End Donations Needed | Health Canada Announces Legal Medical Marijuana Available January 1, But Actual Delivery Probably Months Away | British Government Asks Parliament for Shift in Drug Policy | Austin, Texas Drug Raid Tragedy Leads to Another | New Mexico's Governor Johnson to Press Drug Reform Package During Special Session | Treatment Not Jail Initiative Gets Underway in Michigan, Joins Efforts in Florida and Ohio | Alerts: Bolivia, HEA Drug Provision, DEA Hemp Ban, Ecstasy Bill, Mandatory Minimums, Medical Marijuana | The Reformer's Calendar

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