Decriminalization

Even as Chicago ponders whether to decriminalize pot possession, one of its suburbs has gone ahead and done it. The city of Evanston Monday night passed its 2012 budget, complete with an ordinance that decriminalizes the possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana.

People caught with fewer than 10 grams would be ticketed and fined, but would face no jail time and no criminal record. Up until now, they would have been charged with a misdemeanor and faced up to six months in jail.

City council members and Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl said that decriminalization would prevent young people from being burdened with a criminal record and would free up police and prosecutorial resources in the revenue-strapped town.

"There is a high amount of paperwork and time that is spent going to court," Alderwoman Melissa Wynne told the Daily Northwestern. "It's not just the arrest, but then the processing and follow-through that takes a lot of time."

"A one-time violation by someone with that level of possession could be a teenager or someone in college," said Alderman Donald Wilson. "I wouldn't want to see people suffer the long-term consequences of something that might just be short-term misconduct."

Alderman Peter Braithwaite cited a higher rate of marijuana arrests among black youths in the city in explaining his support for decriminalization. "I'm definitely very concerned about the number of black teens who end up in the criminal justice system and how that affects their futures and abilities to get jobs later in life," he said.

Marijuana law reform is definitely in the air in the Chicago area. The Cook County Board of Commissioners okayed decriminalization in unincorporated areas of the county in 2009 and then expanded that remit to include all jurisdictions in the county that don't have their own police forces. The suburban city of Skokie recently decriminalized possession of less than 10 grams for teenagers, and the city of Chicago is currently considering a decriminalization move.

The British government has once again ignored the advice of the government panel empowered to advise it on drug policy issues and is maintaining a stalwart, if terse, defense of the continuing criminalization of drug users. The Conservative-led coalition government headed by Prime Minister David Cameron -- a one-time legalization advocate -- is rejecting a renewed call from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to decriminalize drug possession.

The ACMD is a panel of experts created by the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act "to keep drug misuse in the United Kingdom under review, and to advise the government on measures for preventing misuse and social problems arising from it." But both Labor and Tory governments have ignored the advice of the ACMD when that body has recommended reformist measures, whether it be downgrading the seriousness of marijuana offenses, properly scheduling drugs like Ecstasy, or, in the present case, calling for decriminalization as a smarter approach to drug possession.

The ACMD had called on the government to move toward decriminalization last year in its submission to the national drug strategy consultation, concluding that persons arrested for the possession of any drug "should not be processed through the criminal justice system but instead be diverted into drug education/awareness courses." Because that advice did not fit the "tough on crime" politics of the Tories, it was ignored.

This month, the ACMD reiterated its support for decriminalization, forcing the government to react. The venue for the renewed call was the ACMD's submission to the Sentencing Council, another governmental body charged with reviewing sentencing practices. Oddly enough, whether drug possessors should even face criminal sanctions was beyond the Sentencing Council's remit, but that didn't stop the ACMD from making its point, using language almost identical to that in last year's national drug strategy submission.

"The ACMD also believes that there is an opportunity to be more creative in dealing with those who have committed an offence by possession of drugs," the advisors wrote. "For people found to be in possession of drugs (any) for personal use (and involved in no other criminal offences), they should not be processed through the criminal justice system but instead be diverted into drug education / awareness courses with concomitant assessment for treatment needs, or possibly other, more creative civil punishments… Such approaches may be more effective in reducing repeat offending and reducing costs to the criminal justice system. There should be 'drugs awareness' courses to which those found in possession can be referred as a diversion. These could also be available to those being conditionally cautioned where there is evidence of drug use."

The ACMD noted that similar diversion programs are used other sorts of offenses, such as traffic.

Media notice of the ACMD's recommendation forced the government to respond, but the Home Office was having none of that decriminalization talk. In a statement released Friday, the Home Office made clear it was not listening to its drug advisors.

"We have no intention of liberalizing our drugs laws," the Home Office said. "Drugs are illegal because they are harmful -- they destroy lives and cause untold misery to families and communities. Those caught in the cycle of dependency must be supported to live drug-free lives, but giving people a green light to possess drugs through decriminalization is clearly not the answer. We are taking action through tough enforcement, both inland and abroad, alongside introducing temporary banning powers and robust treatment programs that lead people into drug-free recovery."

But that position, arrived at by the coalition-dominating Conservatives, is leaving some open space between them and their junior partners, the Liberal Democrats. Just last month, the Liberal Democrats passed a resolution calling for the decriminalization of drug possession and the regulated distribution of marijuana. Still, with Labor continuing to pursue a feckless policy of not touching drug reform, especially after its debacle with downgrading, then upgrading marijuana offenses, the Liberal Democrats are isolated on the issue among the country's major parties.

But, given the rising clamor for more humane and effective drug policies, not only from the AMCD and governing coalition junior partners, but also from the Global Commission on Drug Policy and an ever-increasing number of civil society groups, it appears the Conservative government's  response to demands for positive change amount to clapping its hands over its hears and chanting, "Nyah! Nyah! We can't hear you!" Except you know they're saying that because they actually do hear you.

Members of Britain's Liberal Democratic Party overwhelmingly adopted a resolution Sunday supporting the decriminalization of drug possession and the regulated distribution of marijuana and calling for an "impact assessment" of the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act that would provide a venue for considering decriminalization and controlled marijuana sales.

The resolution calls for an independent panel "to properly evaluate, economically and scientifically, the present legal framework for dealing with drugs in the United Kingdom." Citing the Portuguese decriminalization model, the resolution called for consideration of reforms so that "possession of any controlled drug for personal use would not be a criminal offense" or that "possession would be prohibited but should cause police officers to issue citations for individuals to appear before panels tasked with determining appropriate education, health or social interventions."

The resolution also calls for the review to consider "alternative, potential frameworks for a strictly controlled and regulated cannabis market and the potential impacts of such regulation on organized crime, and the health and safety of the public, especially children."

The resolution includes a call for "widespread provision of the highest quality evidence-based medical, psychological and social services for those affected by drugs problems," including the widespread use of heroin maintenance clinics for hard-core addicts.

The resolution also offers support for the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), whose scientific integrity has been under attack first by the former Labor government, which resulted in a number of high profile resignations, and then by the Conservatives, who have put forth a plan to no longer require a certain number of scientists to sit on the council. The council should "retain a majority of independent scientific and social scientific experts in its membership," and no changes to the drug laws should take place without its advice, the resolution said.

The Liberal Democrats are the junior partner in Britain's coalition government, having brokered a deal with Conservatives after the last parliamentary elections. The resolution will put the party in conflict with the Conservatives, who are opposed to any liberalization of Britain's drug laws.

It also puts them at odds with Labor, which after a brief dalliance with downgrading marijuana offenses in 2004, overrode the advice of the ACMD to restore the old, harsher penalties the following year. The Liberal Democrats can continue to boast of having the most progressive drug policy position of any of Britain's major parties.

The resolution was introduced by Ewan Hoyle, delegate from Glasgow South and founder of Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform. Politicians have tip-toed around drug policy reform because of "cowardice, pure cowardice," he said. Instead of panicking over what the tabloids might say, Hoyle added, "It's time politicians looked voters in the eye and attempted to explain complex concepts. I want [Liberal Democratic leader] Nick Clegg to walk into [Prime Minister] David Cameron's office and say: 'This is part of what is needed to get the country out of a hole.'"

While most party front-benchers stayed out of the debate, MP Tom Brake, co-chair of the Home Affairs Parliamentary Party Committee, congratulated delegates on passage of the resolution.

"Today, Liberal Democrats reaffirmed our support for an evidenced based drugs policy, calling for an independent panel to review current drug laws," Brake said after passage. "We want to ensure the Government has a clear focus on prevention and reducing harm by investing in education, treatment and rehabilitation, and moving away from criminalizing individuals and vulnerable drug users. We need proper regulation and investment if we are to get to the root of the battle with drugs. Liberal Democrats are the only party prepared to debate these issues."

The Conservatives were quick to go on the attack. The resolution "sends out the message that taking drugs is okay, but it is not," Tory MP Charles Walker told the tabloid Daily Mail. "If the Liberal Democrats think taking heroin, cocaine and smoking skunk is okay, then that is up to them, but the government and I think most people in Britain do not agree with them."

While Labor continues to back away from drug reform, at least one Labor MP congratulated the Liberal Democrats on the resolution.

"The resolution passed should be acceptable to all but the most prejudiced MPs," said MP Paul Flynn, a long-time supporter of drug law reform. "But what next? Will someone take the campaign forward in Parliament?" he asked. "I've tried several times with bills and debates. I still have the scars to prove it. But, contrary to popular belief, advocating the end of drug prohibition is not an electoral liability. If it was I would have been rejected by the voters twenty years ago. This is an era when there is respect for strongly held independent views that challenge accepted foolishness."

Flynn could not resist a chance to jab at Prime Minister Cameron -- who supported drug legalization before he opposed it -- and the Liberal Democrats as well.

"An additional reason why drugs reform may be successful is that we have a Prime Minister who understands the argument," Flynn noted. "He wrote a great column in 2002 setting out the alternatives. The vote was practically unanimous this afternoon. Will the Lib Dems have the cojones to implement their conference policy?"

It may not be just a matter of cojones, but also of numbers, said Steve Rolles of the Transform Drug Policy Institute.

"This is Liberal Democratic policy only, and they are the minority partner in the coalition government," he noted. "They have had a pretty strong drug policy position for years, but the problem has been that it has been a shield issue for them rather than a sword issue. They have not wanted to take the lead on it because the leadership sees it as a potential liability rather than a strength. They have made the intellectual journey, but are afraid to commit on the political side."

But now the Liberal Democrats have passed their resolution, even if party leader Nick Clegg has been noticeably silent on the issue, and that puts the issue squarely before the public again. That's a good thing, said Rolles.

"The Tories will certainly need to respond, and will be made to look trenchant, anti-evidence, and dogmatic as a result," the analyst said. "Labor may move slightly, but I think they are biding their time to see what the public reaction will be. All the parties know that drug policy reform must happen at some point, but none want to move on it until they are more confident it will play well politically," he said.

"This pushes the debate into the political mainstream, which is always helpful, not least because it provides cover for others to take a public position on reform," Rolles continued. "We know that exposure to informed debate on this issue tends to move opinion in a positive direction so that is also a positive.  This isn't a seismic moment but it is another step in the right direction. Undermining the creaking edifice of prohibition is an attritional process."

The Liberal Democratic Party has had its say on drug policy reform this past weekend. Now, the question is how the party leadership responds and whether Labor and the Conservatives can be moved on the issue. It looks like the drug debate is heating up again in Britain.

The British Liberal Democratic Party, junior partner in a coalition government with the Conservatives, is expected to pass a motion calling for an independent panel to study the decriminalization of the possession of all illicit drugs and for a regulated marijuana market, according to various British press reports. The motion is to be voted on at the party's annual conference next month.

The motion also calls for the inquiry to review the impact of the Misuse of Drugs Act and whether the government should seriously consider heroin maintenance programs. It cites the success of the Portuguese decriminalization model, as well as the call for reform from the Global Commission on Drug Policy, and the findings of Britain's own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which called for the decriminalization of drug possession during the national review of drug strategy last year.

Aides to Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party head Nick Clegg told the Daily Mail they expected party members to approve the motion next month, making it official policy and putting the Lib Dems at odds with their Conservative partners.

But The Guardian reported that Lib Dems believe Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May can be persuaded to allow an open-minded inquiry into the controversial topic. Earlier in his political career Cameron called for drug legalization, but he has since retreated from that position.

"There is increasing evidence that the UK's drugs policy is not only ineffective and not cost effective, but actually harmful, impacting particularly severely on the poor and marginalized," the motion said, citing "the need for evidence-based policy making on drugs with a clear focus on prevention and harm reduction."

The motion also calls for the inquiry to "examine heroin maintenance clinics in Switzerland and the Netherlands which have delivered great health benefits for addicts and considerable reductions in drug-related crime."

Even if the motion is passed, it is unlikely to become law. Its proposals will be opposed not only by the Tories, but also by Labor, which briefly entertained a dalliance with lessening penalties for marijuana before doing a U-turn on the issue in the face of public and political pressure. But passage of the motion would mean that one of Britain's major political parties is now lining up behind serious drug reform efforts.