Decriminalisation of drug possession is a progressive policy, say Greens

16 December 2010

The Green Party today came out in strong support of Bob Ainsworth's call for the decriminalisation of drug possession, as a step towards opening up dialogue on the issue.

Shane Collins, Green Party drugs spokesperson, said today:

"We warmly welcome Bob Ainsworth's comments which speak the truth he dared not mention whilst a minister.

"This policy, as outlined by Bob Ainsworth, has been Green Party policy for some years now. The Green Party believes a policy of regulation would cut crime and remove the motor of drug profits from gangs, cutting knife and gun use in urban England.

"Irrespective of our personal views on drug use we have to accept that just over 10% of the UK population take illegal drugs and the huge profits to be made are fuelling every estate gang in the country. It should be noted that fewer people, in particular fewer young people, take cannabis or heroin in Holland with regulated sale compared to the UK where drugs are more freely available via an unregulated gang network."

 

UK approach to drugs has been "an epic failure"

Green MP Caroline Lucas, who spoke at a Westminster Hall debate on government drugs policy today, said:

"The UK's approach to dealing with drugs, based on criminalisation rather than harm reduction, has been an epic failure. In England and Wales alone, the economic costs of Class A drugs (dealing with related crime and demands on the NHS, for example) are estimated at more than £15.4 billion per year - and over half of the 85,000 people in prison are thought to have serious drug problems. Much of our current approach is based on kneejerk moral judgements about drug use and drug users - rather than on what actually works to reduce harm.

"The Government's drug strategy announced by the Home Secretary last week doesn't go far enough towards recognising that reducing drug related harms is a public health concern. There is growing consensus that we need to move away from prohibition towards a health based strategy that seeks to reduce drug use and drug harms through control and regulation. By burying our heads in the sand on this, we are missing out on the opportunity for the state to intervene to regulate and control the drugs market, to properly treat drug users and to reduce the harms to users and society."

 

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