kentnews.co.uk - Saturday, January 24, 2015 - Molly Kersey
Should drugs be legalised?
The county’s politicians speak out
“In a nutshell, I think it’s a bad idea and it wouldn’t work.”
Conservative Thanet North MP, Sir Roger Gale, has an opinion on making drugs legal that is shared by many. In fact, it’s fair to say the majority.
Yet the debate surrounding legalising drugs has been rumbling on for years and shows no sign of stopping any time soon. It is one of those political hot potatoes - always controversial, always divides opinion, and, many would argue, not discussed in an open and honest manner due to the knee-jerk perceptions of the public.
But is there time for rational, reasoned debate to once again look at the wider issues and a possible reform of our drugs law?
Prominent figures - among them comedian and self-styled revolutionary Russell Brand - who recently made BBC3 documentary End the Drugs War, are calling for a change in policy and the way drug users are treated.
Some, like Brand, say that drug addiction is a health issue rather than a crime and should be treated as such, while others vehemently defend existing drug laws with arguments that legalising drugs will send a message it is acceptable to use them.
But regardless of people’s stance, one message has been repeated throughout the debate: The system we currently have isn’t working.
Conservative Thanet North MP Sir Roger Gale’s opinion on making drugs legal is shared by many - probably the majority of people.
Yet the debate surrounding the legalisation of drugs has been rumbling on for years and shows no sign of stopping. It is one of those political hot potatoes - always controversial, always dividing opinion, and, perhaps, not always discussed in an open and honest manner.
And prominent figures - among them comedian Russell Brand, who recently made a BBC3 documentary called End the Drugs War - are calling for a change in policy.
Some say drug addiction is a health issue rather than a crime and should be treated as such. Others vehemently defend existing drug laws on the grounds that legalising drugs will send a message that using them is acceptable.
But regardless of people’s stance, one message has been repeated throughout the debate: the system we have isn’t working.
Despite decades of battling narcotics, beginning with the dawn of the ‘war on drugs’ which accompanied the creation of the Misuse of Drugs Act in 1971, levels of addiction and crime continue to be frighteningly high.
It is estimated that some three million people in the UK use illegal drugs, with the vast majority of use being classed as recreational - the amounts consumed are small, and users consider themselves in control.
But around 10 per cent are considered ‘problem drug users’ - meaning that they inject drugs or are dependent on them.
Few of the total figure would be considered dangers to society - but the networks which feed users are. The sums involved are huge, and violence goes hand-in-hand with such criminal activity.
The British Medical Association says that while illegal drug use has been declining in the UK since the 1990s, the economic, social and health costs are still substantial.
Criminal justice system costs, involving the police, the courts, probation and prisons, could top £4 billion a year, the BMA says.
This is money that some of those in favour of legalising drugs argue could be pumped back into education and healthcare.
A Home Office report concluded that harsh punishments do not dissuade people from using drugs. This has divided politicians and officials and sparked calls for a fresh approach.
“The war on drugs was lost many years ago,” said Thanet South Green candidate at the upcoming general election, Ian Driver.
“It’s one of these subjects that becomes tied up in emotion, with strong feelings on both sides, but there’s one heck of a lot of evidence that can be studied and looked at objectively that should guide policy.
“Decriminalisation or legalisation is probably one of the best ways of lessening the damage from drugs. You can regulate how they are manufactured and control and check the quality of the products.”
Mr Driver feels there should be a public inquiry into reviewing drugs laws.
“I feel there’s an overwhelming balance of fact-based argument that legalisation should be the way forward,” he said.
So is it time to review the law?
Dr Caroline Chatwin is a senior lecturer in criminology at the University of Kent.
Her work involves analysing drug policy at a national and international level.
She explained: “Traditionally, drug policies tend to have been very prohibition-based or involve the criminal justice system.
“The results are dismal.
“There seems to be more of an attraction for looking at an alternative. Harm reduction focuses on the idea that it’s important to protect the health of people who are using drugs, and that should come first.
“The aim can still be to reduce the number of drug users but in a different way from the brute force of the criminal justice system.”
Several countries around the world have legalised or decriminalised drugs.
Decriminalisation comes in various guises, but fundamentally does not involve drug use being legalised. But it means those with small amounts for personal use have the substances consfiscated but do not face a criminal charge.
Uruguay has made it legal to sell, grow and take cannabis, and Portugal has decriminalised the possession of small quantities of any drugs. Statistics suggested drug use saw a slight, but still significant, increase.
Washington and Colorado have both legalised recreational use of marijuana and Switzerland has adopted a harm reduction approach in dealing with problem drug users, introducing supervised injection rooms and needle exchange programmes.
“It’s not just about reducing the harm drugs do, but having a policy that protects people from criminalisation,” Dr Chatwin explained.
“Legalisation still feels like a radical, liberal kind of idea but around the world we have seen a much more moderated regulation of drugs.
“One of the biggest fears is that it will increase the number of people who use drugs, but we have fairly good evidence to show that’s not the case. In the Netherlands fewer people are using cannabis than in the UK.”
Rick Bradley works at KCA, the county’s drug, alcohol and mental health organisation, He works with children aged between 10 and 17, educating them about the dangers of drugs.
He said: “There’s a really broad range of young people, some who would definitely be deterred from using substances because of the law, but there will be a lot of people who just don’t factor that in. Some people will still be happy to use substances and will get a criminal record because their preference is cannabis rather than alcohol.
“But if we legalise them, does that mean that we are going to be opening the doors to make substances more acceptable? I think legalisation could send out the wrong message.”
So if drugs were legalised or decriminalised, who exactly would it help?
“The benefits would be different to different people,” Dr Chatwin said.
“For addicts, it’s an all-consuming lifestyle. You have to think all the time ‘where am I going to get the money for my next lot of drugs, how am I going to avoid the police, where am I going to use?’.
Once the chaos of the rest of their life is calmed down, it gives them the chance to build employment skills, or get a job, or mend relationships. When you’re very marginalised and chaotic there’s not necessarily any incentive to do that.
“Many drug users are law-abiding citizens, the only thing they have done wrong is using drugs.”
Ian Driver agrees.
He said: “It could have a devastating impact on a young person’s life if you have a criminal record for using or selling small amounts of drugs. That’s your chance of a job possibly gone forever.”
Craig Mackinlay is the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for the South Thanet seat at May’s election.
He said: “I am worried that we are criminalising vast numbers of the population, and stigmatising people who want to change their life with a criminal record. But it’s been the only stick that we have used to get people into rehabilitation.
“The 1970s law was made at a time when we only had about 5,000 drug users. We now have 2.7 million.”
Thanet North MP Sir Roger Gale believes that legalising drugs is an “insane” idea.
“There’s an irony in this, in that at the time when we are trying to persuade people to give up smoking we are trying to legalise drugs which are smoked,” he said.
“From my point of view it is a completely insane idea. I think in the long run it will just lead to more people experimenting.
“At a time when we are trying to encourage healthy living it seems to me the wrong path. What we want to do as a nation is encourage young people to enjoy life, and the most enjoyable life is a healthy one.”
How do you feel about drug legislation? Share your views by emailing editorial@kosmedia.co.uk or write to The Editor, Kent on Sunday, Kent House, 81 Station Road, Ashford TN23 1PP."