|
British
Government
Asks
Parliament
for
Shift
in
Drug
Policy
12/28/01
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.
-- END --
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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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