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Mrs M's Rants & Raves
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| MORE FUTILE OUTRAGE |
| Written by Atticus | |
| Monday, 22 March 2010 09:30 | |
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Labour MP Helen Goodman, in saying that as long methadone remains legal, "young people are more likely to use it and police are less able to tackle the problem" actually sounds like she is trying to appear ignorant. The decades long "war on drugs" waged by the police and politicians has accompanied a steady escalation in the use and social cost of drugs – which, at the very least, shows that a new tack should be taken. And then there’s Conservative MP Chris Grayling – who, to be fair, doesn't have a great record of social commentary after comparing Moss Side in Manchester to the US TV series The Wire – who has said of "legal highs" that, "there is mounting evidence to suggest these drugs are doing real damage to people's health. An incoming Conservative government would mount an urgent review of these substances with a view to adding them to the list of banned substances." It is such politically motivated statements such as these that have got us into the sorry mess we're in – allowing “banned” substances to become controlled (and so cut with any number of horrible substances) by criminal gangs. As outlined in the Telegraph last year, many drugs enforcement officers themselves believe that the drugs war is unwinnable and that it can actually exacerbate the problem. And yet politicians refuse to have a grownup debate on the subject – as evidenced by the sacking of the Government's top drugs adviser, Professor Nutt, over his views about drug classification. Here’s a fascinating article about the history of the drugs war by the investigative journalist Adam Davies.
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