The Drug Culture

I'm by no means a libertarian in the philosophical sense, having too much evidence available for Original Sin! On the other hand, I think the state takes far too much on itself and should leave people alone to sort out their problems rather more than it does at present. 


I have always been suspicious of the "war on drugs" as an excuse for increasingly authoritarian bossiness. So I was really rather disappointed that the Portuguese effort in decriminalisation appears not to have produced the results claimed for it.

Strange to think that a hundred years ago I could have bought drugs and firearms over the counter with no questions asked yet crime was indubitably a tiny fraction of what it is now. I suppose that people (young men, in particular), were perforce too busy scraping some sort of living rather than bored out of their skulls on social security.

The Devil finds work for idle hands and all that.


Edward Spalton

Tweet

UK Drugs Policy is Inadequate

Professor David Nutt, the now ex-chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), was sacked by Alan Johnson last week. Did Alan Johnson invite Professor Nutt to a meeting? Did he telephone him to discuss his concerns? No. He emailed him and told him he was sacked. The Telegraph reported Professor Nutt had received a letter from Mr Johnson, but on Sky News this morning, Alan Johnson admitted he had not written a letter, but emailed the professor.

David Nutt was not paid for his advisory position so it is all the more insulting that he was not treated with even the slightest courtesy. How do we expect our young to respect others when the Home Office minister behaves so badly?

I use drugs - alcohol and tobacco, but I've never used any others and have never been tempted. Once I saw a pal on an LSD trip and it wasn't a pleasant sight. That may have had something to do with my decision.

The present science involving cannabis and ecstasy is not acceptable to the Westminster government. It's just not what they want to hear. For 10 years the UK has had the same drugs policy and time hasn't made the policy any less superficial. Despite the knowledge and good sense of the people working with drug abusers and despite millions of pounds being ploughed into mainly locally managed anti-drug campaigns, drug use hasn't reduced to any great extent. By all accounts it seems more people are using party drugs nowadays.

Professor Nutt wasn't advocating a free for all legalised drugs policy but he wanted to scrap the present system of drugs classification. New laboratory created drugs have emerged during the last decade and their effects on behaviour and health need to be compared with other recreational drugs.

Before establishing a new classification register, public opinion must be informed by scientific findings as well as personal experience of the social disruption caused by legal and illegal drugs. It's time comparisons were made between the costs of different treatments for alcohol, tobacco, hard drug and soft drug users.

Will our politicians accept this has to happen and we need to update? No. They're too worried changing the present policy would lose them votes so it will stay as the inadequate piece of legislation it is.

Tweet