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Article Source: BBC News - Japan hit by massive earthquakeDecriminalising drug use could drastically reduce crime and improve health, the outgoing president of the Royal College of Physicians has said.
Sir Ian Gilmore said the laws on misuse of drugs should be reviewed and that their supply should be regulated.
He says he formed his view after seeing the problems caused by dirty needles and contaminated drugs first hand in the patients he has treated.
In his recent report to the Bar Council, Mr Green said there was growing evidence that decriminalising personal use could free up police resources, reduce crime and improve public health.
Sir Ian said he had had a longstanding interest in the subject, stemming from his work as a liver specialist.
"Every day in our hospital wards we see drug addicts with infections from dirty needles, we see heroin addicts with complications from contaminated drugs," he said.
He argued that many of the problems health staff encountered were the consequences not of heroin itself, but of prohibition.
He said the "punitive criminal justice-driven war on drugs" had delivered the opposite of its goals.
"It hasn't reduced drug use, it hasn't prevented the availability of drugs, but it has created a whole raft of secondary problems associated with the illegal market, including making drugs more dangerous than they already are and undermining public health and fuelling crime."
"That is provoking a debate on what the alternative approaches are and the one that we are calling for is legally regulated production supply."
He said those who found such a proposal difficult to stomach needed to "accept the pragmatic reality that demand for drugs exists now".
#1 - Wed Aug 18, 2010 2:10 AM EDTHe called on the government to look at the evidence and assess the current policy compared with the alternatives, instead of following the "traditional political grandstanding and moral posturing which has characterised drugs policy over the last few decades".
followed by, what else? Why, traditional political grandstanding and moral posturing, of course:
"The government does not believe that decriminalisation is the right approach. Our priorities are clear; we want to reduce drug use, crack down on drug-related crime and disorder and help addicts come off drugs for good."
That's so cool. Couldn't have scripted it any better.
#2 - Wed Aug 18, 2010 2:44 AM EDTYou're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
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