An urgent new evidence-based approach is needed to tackle the UK’s drug crisis and make our communities safer, Caroline Lucas MP will say today.
The Green party leader will make a speech to NHS healthcare professionals in Brighton this evening. She will echo the findings of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which earlier this month called for a major review of drugs policy.
The Brighton MP will say:
There is growing agreement across the scientific and political communities, in the police and the legal professions, that we need to move away from prohibition of use towards an evidence-based, public health approach to drug addiction.
One of my top priorities as a local MP is to tackle Brighton and Hove’s very sad reputation as the drugs death capital of the UK. In order to do that, we need to recognise the reality that the so-called ‘war on drugs’ has failed – and start dealing with drugs differently.
Lucas is an active member of Parliament’s All Party Group for Drug Policy Reform.
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5 comments:
If you are going to make any difference look at the true facts, prohibition will never work !!!
The only way forward is to legalise drugs then help those wanting help, you are wasting your money forcing people into rehabilitation. Would it help forcing an alcoholic to stop drinking !!! NO !!! They first need to accept they need help, forcing them will only cause relapses which will kill people or is that your plan to eradicate drug users .....
You are trying but no where near far enough you have alienated a lot of your supporters. I for one will no longer vote for your party until you change your policies on drugs + will be suggesting to others through my page to do the same !!!
Is she planning to force treatment on drug users if so what happens to those that refused. Is she looking to threaten jail if you refuse if so; we will end up with more people in prison not less and more of those will be non problematic cannabis users. Voluntary treatment programs need to be offered to those that need them. They have to be offered with no prospect of criminalisation, loss of employment or other sanction or they simply will go.
As a previous member of the Green Party drugs policy group, despised by its leadership and only used when its politcally opportune, my experience has been that the Green Party does not want to stick out or be accused by the media to be 'soft' on drugs. We do need a new approach and it is vital that those who are subjected to it, are part of the policy decision making process.
Criminalising future young taxpayers who harm nobody but themselves is not a good appraoch, her collegue Jenny, a LAM on the police commission, could no doubt approve of that statement.
As a previous member of the Green Party drugs policy group, despised by its leadership and only used when its politcally opportune, my experience has been that the Green Party does not want to stick out or be accused by the media to be 'soft' on drugs. We do need a new approach and it is vital that those who are subjected to it, are part of the policy decision making process.
Criminalising future young taxpayers who harm nobody but themselves is not a good appraoch, her collegue Jenny, a LAM on the police commission, could no doubt approve of that statement.
A crazy idea dreamt up by those whose contact with drugs has been the odd joint at Uni.
Cannabis is largely ignored already and is irrelevant to the argument but if hard drugs such as smack, crack, coke, speed and even stuff like meth were to become largely 'legal', it would be disastrous for large numbers of people in dead end towns. I've seen it first hand and the only thing that stopped it being worse than it was, was the fact that the stuff was hard to get and the fear of the penalties made several of us into light / recreational users.
You've got to remove the desire to take the drugs, or you've got to remove the drugs. If you have the drugs and the people who wish to take them, you've got a long-term problem. Nothing else will work.
Not getting into trouble with the law for having them aint gonna improve anything in THIS country for the young people who take the drugs. And why on earth would it?
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