Is A Labour Politician Actually Correct For Once?

[OnionTerror]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/former-ministers-call-over-hard-drugs-irresponsible-2161954.html

A Labour ex-cabinet minister's call for hard drugs to be decriminalised was dismissed as "irresponsible" by the party leadership today. Bob Ainsworth, at one time in charge of drugs policy as a Home Office Minister, wants the production and supply of drugs including cocaine to be officially regulated. The war on drugs had been "nothing but a disaster", he said, and switching the trade from the hands of criminals to doctors and pharmacies appeared to be the best solution.

But his proposal, to be put to ministers in a parliamentary debate this afternoon, were immediately rejected by the Coalition. And Labour leader Ed Miliband and a Labour MP who has led anti-drug campaigns moved swiftly to distance themselves from his "irresponsible" ideas.

"Bob's views do not reflect Ed's views, the party's view or indeed the view of the vast majority of the public," a spokeswoman for Ed Miliband said.

A party source described the legalisation proposal as "extremely irresponsible". "I don't know what he was thinking," they said.

There was also a stinging retort from Labour MP John Mann, who carried out an inquiry into hard drug use in his Bassetlaw constituency while Mr Ainsworth was drugs minister.

"He didn't know what he was talking about when I met him with my constituents during my heroin inquiry and he doesn't know what he's talking about now," he said.

Crime Prevention minister James Brokenshire said: "Drugs are harmful and ruin lives - legalisation is not the answer.

"Decriminalisation is a simplistic solution that fails to recognise the complexity of the problem and ignores the serious harm drug taking poses to the individual.

"Legalisation fails to address the reasons people misuse drugs in the first place or the misery, cost and lost opportunities that dependence causes individuals, their families and the wider community."

Mr Ainsworth said his government roles had showed him that prohibition had failed.

"My departure from the frontbenches gives me the freedom to express my long held view that, whilst it was put in place with the best of intentions, the war on drugs has been nothing short of a disaster," he declared.

"I am not proposing the legalisation of heroin so we can all get zonked out on the street corner," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"What I am saying is that heroin needs to be taken out of the hands of the dealers, put into the hands of the medical profession, done in a mass way to the extent that's necessary.

"We need to be bold, we need some fresh thinking. This has been going on for 50 years now and it is not getting better - the drugs trade is as big and as powerful as it ever was."

50 years of prohibition - has it worked? - No. It's time to try something different.

[Patfig]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/former-ministers-call-over-hard-drugs-irresponsible-2161954.html

50 years of prohibition - has it worked? - No. It's time to try something different.

Yeah make it all free to anyone with a habit

['Bart']

The war on drugs had been "nothing but a disaster", he said

True.

The widespread use of the ostensibly "illegal" cannabis is a joke.

[1888]

of course he is right

all the politicos know he is right

they just dont have the balls to stand up to

the criminal empires which control it

legalised outlets would wipe them out almost instantly

basically they are cowards

[happy_renting]

Something similar works quite well in Portugal, apparently.

It would put dealers out of business overnight. And we could get the raw materials from Afghanistan, cutting off the Taliban's income there.

[OnionTerror]

Something similar works quite well in Portugal, apparently.

It would put dealers out of business overnight. And we could get the raw materials from Afghanistan, cutting off the Taliban's income there.

Yep...at least Portugal were willing to have a grown up debate about it...

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html

[Bruce Banner]

He didn't say it when they were in power, did he .

[The Masked Tulip]

I was talking with a specialist in this field a few days ago about this.

Yes, it should be decriminalised so that all the crime associated with it can be stopped. We also need to stop putting ill people - for this is what they are - into jail.

But...

My friend explained to me some of the things that drugs do to the brain - people in medical circles believe that we are going to see an epidemic of people in their 30s and 40s with 70 year plus like dementia in the coming years due to the various drugs now used by 20-somethings. The drugs do, literally, fry the brain by rewiring it, killing parts of the brain and all sorts of things that we don't really understand.

In short, drugs need to be decriminalised but drug control needs to remain tightly under the control of mental health professionals whose aim is to get drug addicts off drugs and fit and well.

[okaycuckoo]

"Crime Prevention minister James Brokenshire said: "Drugs are harmful and ruin lives - legalisation is not the answer."

I read that as "legislation is not the answer" - finally someone at the heart of the state is rebelling ... but no.

What a serious waste of effort and money to ... fix human nature.

[winkie]

I was talking with a specialist in this field a few days ago about this.

Yes, it should be decriminalised so that all the crime associated with it can be stopped. We also need to stop putting ill people - for this is what they are - into jail.

But...

My friend explained to me some of the things that drugs do to the brain - people in medical circles believe that we are going to see an epidemic of people in their 30s and 40s with 70 year plus like dementia in the coming years due to the various drugs now used by 20-somethings. The drugs do, literally, fry the brain by rewiring it, killing parts of the brain and all sorts of things that we don't really understand.

In short, drugs need to be decriminalised but drug control needs to remain tightly under the control of mental health professionals whose aim is to get drug addicts off drugs and fit and well.

I agree, but by 'to remain tightly under the control of mental health professionals' do you mean getting your drug of choice by prescription?....and where will the clubber who wants something for a Saturday night get theirs from?... I don't think they would bother with a doctors appointment.....or would it be a repeat prescription?

[Harry Monk]

I've always said heroin addicts should be given as much of the stuff as they want, then they wouldn't go burgling our houses to get the money they need to support their habits. If it was a licensed trade it would cost a fraction of what it does on the black market, as well as removing much of the appeal.

[OnionTerror]

I was talking with a specialist in this field a few days ago about this.

Yes, it should be decriminalised so that all the crime associated with it can be stopped. We also need to stop putting ill people - for this is what they are - into jail.

But...

My friend explained to me some of the things that drugs do to the brain - people in medical circles believe that we are going to see an epidemic of people in their 30s and 40s with 70 year plus like dementia in the coming years due to the various drugs now used by 20-somethings. The drugs do, literally, fry the brain by rewiring it, killing parts of the brain and all sorts of things that we don't really understand.

In short, drugs need to be decriminalised but drug control needs to remain tightly under the control of mental health professionals whose aim is to get drug addicts off drugs and fit and well.

I wonder how much of that damage is due to the filler crap they add to the cut, such as rat poison?

[libspero]

It'll happen in our lifetimes..

Amsterdam's still standing, and in fact is one of the most pleasant cities in Europe IMHO.

[MrPin]

I've always said heroin addicts should be given as much of the stuff as they want, then they wouldn't go burgling our houses to get the money they need to support their habits. If it was a licensed trade it would cost a fraction of what it does on the black market, as well as removing much of the appeal.

Get them zonked out, and they want want to be bothered with burglary!!

What's that about Polish Cadbury?

Don't you like Zxlzcyc choccy bars?

[6538]

of course he is right

all the politicos know he is right

they just dont have the balls to stand up to

the criminal empires which control it

legalised outlets would wipe them out almost instantly

basically they are cowards

You don't even need to legalise it. If you prescribed free herion to ever addict then the heroin trade would disappear over night.

[6538]

He didn't say it when they were in power, did he .

Precisely. He's bleating on about how this is such a good idea (it probably is) but why didn't he say it when he could have done something about it? Answer - because it didn't suit his purposes at the time, he would have been kicked out the party.

It's exactly the point I was making on the thread about protest not doing any good. Policitans are only intersted in one thing - retaining power - and they will do absolutely anything to keep it. If you want something done then you have to show them that they need to do it., not just that it may be the morally right thing to do.

[porca misèria]

Something similar works quite well in Portugal, apparently.

It would put dealers out of business overnight. And we could get the raw materials from Afghanistan, cutting off the Taliban's income there.

Erm, nope.

The Taliban in power did a lot to stop the un-islamic drugs trade[1]. Bombing the taliban re-opened the country to the drugs trade on a large scale. Those in the west who are serious about stopping drugs have pretty much negligible influence in the poppy fields.

[1] the taliban - unlike the more mercenary warlords - took seriously the fact that it was un-islamic.

[PunK BeaR]

He didn't say it when they were in power, did he .

Exactly. And he will change his tune quickly when they get back in power.

[SarahBell]

Exactly. And he will change his tune quickly when they get back in power.

he claimed they were not allowed to speak their mind

[6538]

he claimed they were not allowed to speak their mind

Then he should have walked and spoke his mind, as should many other politicians.

His attitude just sums up the state of politics today. No one actually believes anything any more. They are all just a bunch of middle managers competing for a limited number of jobs by offering very slightly different methods as to how they will approach it. The whole point of being a politcian today revolves around getting the job, rather than actually doing what you believe to be right.

[CrashedOutAndBurned]

I can't find the article but I read about the vast size of untaxed criminal drugs money sloshing around the US economy. Basically, that high velocity unregulated money was making such a huge contribution that legalising drugs would seriously undermine the economy.

That's the trouble with any large black market - kill it and you often kill the regular market.

[OnionTerror]

I can't find the article but I read about the vast size of untaxed criminal drugs money sloshing around the US economy. Basically, that high velocity unregulated money was making such a huge contribution that legalising drugs would seriously undermine the economy.

That's the trouble with any large black market - kill it and you often kill the regular market.

There are rumours that a certain US govt department may allegedly be involved in drugs trafficking, so I'm not surprised that they wouldn't want such a trade stopped.