The report from the Home Affairs Committee on Drugs: Breaking the Cyle is a serious contribution to the debate about tackling drug use. It deserves to be read and it certainly does not merit a knee-jerk response from Government. I particularly welcome the recommendation (para. 132) for a Royal Commission to examine the issue. As regular…
I am extremely grateful to all those who contributed to my earlier post on my Question for Short Debate (QSD) making the case for a Royal Commission on drug use and possession. The comments were notable for their quality as well as their quantity. My QSD was held last night, with all speakers bar the minister…
My Question for Short Debate, ‘To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to establishing a Royal Commission on the law governing drug use and possession’, has been scheduled for next Wednesday (9 March). It takes place for one hour, starting at about 7.30 p.m. Readers are very welcome to suggest points I…
Former Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth (pictured) has caused something of a political storm for calling for the legalisation of drugs so that they can be available, probably on prescription, as a way of tackling the major problems presently caused by the supply and consumption of drugs. Some of the responses to his call have been predictable. However,…
I see that Sir Ian Gilmore, the retiring president of the Royal College of Physicians, has endorsed the call made by Nicholas Green QC, the chairman of the Bar Council, to consider the decriminalisation of drug use. He believes that this could drastically cut crime and addicts’ health problems. Drug taking is a mug’s game…
