15.10.12
Drugs commission urges decriminalisation after six years of research
Possession of a small amount of controlled drugs should no longer be a criminal offence, the UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC) has recommended.
Following a six-year study of British drug laws, the commission concluded that introducing decriminalisation would not lead to a significant increase in drug use.
The criminal sanctions should be replaced with civil penalties such as fines, attendance at drug awareness sessions or referral to a drug treatment programme. The panel believes this could undermine the increase of illicit cannabis factories controlled by organised crime, but rejects any more radical move to legalisation.
Existing drugs policies struggle to make an impact and in some cases may make the problem worse, their report concludes. The panel also posits that the current approach is too simplistic, viewing all drug use as problematic.
The 173-page report concludes: “Taking drugs does not always cause problems, but this is rarely acknowledged by policymakers. In fact most users do not experience significant problems, and there is some evidence that drug use can have benefits in some circumstances.”
The Government spends £3bn a year tackling drug problems, yet this is not based on evidence of what works, the UKDPC said.
One member of the committee, Professor Colin Blakemore, who is Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and University of Warwick, said: “Medicine has moved past the age when we treated disease on the basis of hunches and received wisdom. It is time that policy on illicit drug use starts taking evidence seriously as well.
“When other countries have reduced sanctions for low-level drug users, they have found it possible to keep a lid on drug use while helping people with drug problems to get into treatment.
“But at the same time, we need to continue to bear down on those producing and supplying illicit drugs. This is particularly important for those spreading misery in local communities.
“We spend billions of pounds every year without being sure of what difference much of it makes.”
The UKDPC’s final report is available here: www.ukdpc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/a-fresh-approach-to-drugs-the-final-report-of-the-uk-drug-policy-commission.pdf
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