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Newsbrief:
Scotland
Yard
Chief
Says
Legalize
It
5/23/03
One of Britain's most senior
police officers has joined the legalization chorus. Chief Superintendent
Anthony Wills, borough commander of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, called
for the government to take over the drug trade since it cannot stop it.
In an interview with the
Hammersmith and Shephards Bush Gazette last week, Wills said even hard
drugs, such as crack cocaine and heroin, should be legalized. "I
would have no problems with decriminalizing drugs full stop," said Mr Wills.
"There have to be very stringent measures over the production and supply
of drugs, and we have got to remove the drug market from criminals.
I do not want people to take drugs, but if they are going to, I want them
to take them safely, with a degree of purity and in a controlled way."
Wills repeated his insistence
that he was not promoting drug use. "I am not saying people should
take drugs. They are very bad for you, but the reality of the world
we live in is this: If people want to get drugs, they can get them.
Drugs are a fact of life, and you cannot eradicate them," Wills said.
"My only concern is to increase the safety of the community and not to
allow these ghastly people to make a fortune out of other people's misery."
Wills, a 30-year veteran
who commands more than 2,000 officers, said that no matter how harsh drug
laws are, they are doomed to failure. "There are some places where
people are beheaded if they sell drugs, but even this does not stop the
trade."
And enforcing the cannabis
laws is a waste of police resources, Wills added. "I am very liberal
in relation to possession of drugs," he said. "Policing cannabis
is a waste of our time, as I do not feel the effects of cannabis are any
worse than over-consumption of alcohol."
Wills may have joined the
growing number of high police and government officials who have gone off
the reservation on drug policy, but the Blair government remains steadfast.
"All controlled drugs are harmful and will remain illegal," the Home Office
noted tersely in response to Wills' remarks. "The Government's drug
strategy focuses on the most dangerous drugs as the misery they cause cannot
be underestimated. We have not seen the interview and so cannot comment
on it."
-- END --
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Issue #288, 5/23/03
Editorial: Outrage at Outrages | No Marijuana Possession Law in Ontario, Court Rules -- Cops Vow to Keep Arresting Users Anyway | Hip Hop Nation Set to Rock the Rockefeller Laws -- Mass Protest Set for June 4 if Laws Not Repealed | GOP Effort to Let Drug Czar Propagandize Against Reform Stalled in House Committee | Drug Testing Has No Impact on Student Drug Use, Study Finds | Stop the Murder of Thai Drug Users -- International Day of Action, June 12 | CNN Special Report on "Killing Pablo" | Newsbrief: Rosenthal Loses Motion for New Trial, Sentencing Date Looms | Newsbrief: Medical Marijuana -- Yes in Maryland, No in Connecticut | Newsbrief: "States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act" Reintroduced | Newsbrief: "Smoke a Joint, Lose Your Student Loan" Bill Introduced in Wisconsin | Newsbrief: House Committee Takes Slap at Needle Exchange | Newsbrief: Garcia Marquez Says Legalize Drugs to End Colombian Violence | Newsbrief: Scotland Yard Chief Says Legalize It | Newsbrief: British Government to Issue Guidelines for Heroin Prescriptions, Pilot Programs Coming Soon | Newsbrief: Australian State to Do Medical Marijuana Trials | Newsbrief: "Indian Hemp" Farmers Shoot It Out With Nigerian Narcs | Media Scan: Cockburn on Rosenthal, Forbes on Buying Initiatives, CNN on Bad Drug Raid | The Reformer's Calendar
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