Ex-minister Bob Ainsworth: Make drugs legally available

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Ex-minister Bob Ainsworth: Make drugs legally available

<sub>An ex-minister who had responsibility for drugs policy has called for all drugs to be legally available.

Bob Ainsworth, a Home Office minister under Tony Blair, said successive governments' approaches had failed, leaving criminal gangs in control.

The Coventry North East MP wants to see a system of strict legal regulation, with different drugs either prescribed by doctors or sold under licence.

Ministers have insisted they remain opposed to legalisation.

cont.</sub>

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12005824

[Filuwaúrdjan]

If I'd drawn up a list of former cabinet ministers (of any party) to argue for this in public, Ainsworth would have been down near the bottom. On the radio this morning they said that a former Labour minister had come out in favour of blanket legalisation; I assumed it must have been one of the gadflys. No; Bob Ainsworth, old-fashioned Labour Right Bob Ainsworth. Which just goes to show, I guess.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Well I wouldn't expect Tom Tancredo to say so either.

[You kip if you want to...]

[YL]

If I'd drawn up a list of former cabinet ministers (of any party) to argue for this in public, Ainsworth would have been down near the bottom. On the radio this morning they said that a former Labour minister had come out in favour of blanket legalisation; I assumed it must have been one of the gadflys. No; Bob Ainsworth, old-fashioned Labour Right Bob Ainsworth. Which just goes to show, I guess.

I was surprised too, but I think quite a few people who might not have particularly liberal instincts have come to the same conclusion.

I do wish we could have a mature discussion on this issue in this country, but the reaction to Ainsworth's comments both from the Government (which allegedly contains liberals, of course) and his own party wasn't particularly promising.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Favor

[Phony Moderate]

Favor

Of course you do.

[Silent Hunter]

I oppose this.

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[k-onmmunist]

If you want to screw up society even further, sure, legalize hard drugs.

We can't win the War on Drugs, you're right. But we can't win the war on murder either, so do people suggest we just give up on that?

[Јas]

If you want to screw up society even further, sure, legalize hard drugs.

Is it your contention that the decriminalisation of hard drugs in Portugal 10 years ago 'screwed up' that society?

[k-onmmunist]

If you want to screw up society even further, sure, legalize hard drugs.

Is it your contention that the decriminalisation of hard drugs in Portugal 10 years ago 'screwed up' that society?

Britain isn't Portugal - you can't take an entirely different culture and expect to have the same results.

[Јas]

If you want to screw up society even further, sure, legalize hard drugs.

Is it your contention that the decriminalisation of hard drugs in Portugal 10 years ago 'screwed up' that society?

Britain isn't Portugal - you can't take an entirely different culture and expect to have the same results.

Then presuming to take the above answer as 'no, Portugal isn't actually screwed up', what is it that differentiates Portugal from Britain to the point that you believe similar action in Britain would lead to egregiously different results?

[k-onmmunist]

If you want to screw up society even further, sure, legalize hard drugs.

Is it your contention that the decriminalisation of hard drugs in Portugal 10 years ago 'screwed up' that society?

Britain isn't Portugal - you can't take an entirely different culture and expect to have the same results.

Then presuming to take the above answer as 'no, Portugal isn't actually screwed up', what is it that differentiates Portugal from Britain to the point that you believe similar action in Britain would lead to egregiously different results?

Because it's gone wrong before in other countries, such as in Zurich, Switzerland when they allowed heroin users to exchange needles in a limited area. It went from a few hundred users to in the tens of thousands. Not a resounding success.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/portugal-decriminalising-personal-drug-use

What I'm saying is that not every policy works as well in every country.

[Јas]

If you want to screw up society even further, sure, legalize hard drugs.

Is it your contention that the decriminalisation of hard drugs in Portugal 10 years ago 'screwed up' that society?

Britain isn't Portugal - you can't take an entirely different culture and expect to have the same results.

Then presuming to take the above answer as 'no, Portugal isn't actually screwed up', what is it that differentiates Portugal from Britain to the point that you believe similar action in Britain would lead to egregiously different results?

Because it's gone wrong before in other countries, such as in Zurich, Switzerland when they allowed heroin users to exchange needles in a limited area. It went from a few hundred users to in the tens of thousands. Not a resounding success.

Correct me if I'm wrong but that's a completely different policy action and implementation to what we were discussing, no?

That Swiss effort looks more like Hamsterdam á la The Wire than an actual proper policy of decriminalisation or legalisation. Which I'm sure you'll agree is quite different.

What I'm saying is that not every policy works as well in every country.

Nobody disagrees with that, but you'll note on re-reading your answer that you don't seem to have made any effort to actually answer the question I asked. Care to take another swing? What is it about Britain that means that the Portuguese policy wouldn't work there?

[k-onmmunist]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1549028/Britain-has-worst-drug-addiction-rate-in-Europe.html

That.

[Јas]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1549028/Britain-has-worst-drug-addiction-rate-in-Europe.html

That.

So they had lower levels of hard drug use than Portugal had in 2000.
How does that help your argument?