Pointless, expensive and failed drug prohibition policy must go!

Well I know it's not up to the police to change the law but for them to think that by evicting people from their homes is going to reduce crime and specifically drug dealing, is an illusion.

ALL efforts by Government and police to reduce dealing, over forty years of it  - have failed.

There is more drugs, more addiction, more crime, more illness and more death, than ever!

Kids as young as eight have been found with drugs in school.  A huge percentage of teenagers have tried drugs and booze - it's not just cannabis.  Whilst drugs get contaminated or cut, whilst they remain available in every town and city, whilst the dealers' profits rise along with addiction, the zero-tolerance policy has failed miserably and has cost many many billions of pounds; over one million people in the UK have a criminal record for cannabis and many of those never actually harmed anyone!

The answer is staring us in the face.

Instead of arresting dealer after dealer, simply creating opportunities for others to step in (as they do), alienating the youth and often abusing people's humans rights in the process - locking up people's who's only "crime" is that they choose to use one drug rather than another, wrongly discriminating between drugs like alcohol and plants like cannabis .. why not ...

.. take the bull by the horns, use common sense, recognise people have and always will take substances to change their moods - take the drugs out of the hands of criminals by legalising the possession, production and supply

This should be an immediate step for cannabis.  As the late Eddie Ellison, retired head of Scotland Yard's Drug Squad, once said: "cannabis ought never have been made illegal."

Legalisation of cannabis cultivation would mean that people would be able to grow plants for their own use in their own homes and stay away from dealers that may offer other drugs.

Legalisation of commercial production and supply to adults would allow quality control, point-of-sale advice, tax on profits, separation from the world of hard drugs and crime - and it would save BILLIONS of pounds of tax-payers money every year.

There are also many hundreds of thousands of people that do or could benefit medicinally from controlled doses of cannabis.  Unlike many prescription drugs, cannabis has no fatal dose, no unpleasant side-effects (for the vast majority) and no need for more pills to counteract those side effects.

It is time for our Government to tell us exactly and honestly why they stay with such an expensive failed policy of prohibition.

Using drugs will cost tenants their homes, warn police
Western Gazette, March 8 2012.

Police in Crewkerne have warned housing association tenants they will be evicted if they use drugs or take part in antisocial behaviour.

Officers are taking a hard stance on the issue and say those responsible could be made homeless if they do not heed the warnings.

Pete Paskin, beat manager for Crewkerne, said: “We are working with the housing associations to tackle drug dealing and drug abuse under the banner of crime reduction and antisocial behaviour.

“We’re sending out the message – don’t think you won’t be made homeless if you take part in antisocial behaviour and drugs. There is a high likelihood you will be.

“You will lose your home if you don’t heed the warnings.

“This should serve as a reminder to everyone, expect a bang on the door from the police and housing associations if you are involved in this sort of activity.”

A spokesman for Yarlington Housing Group, one of the associations working with the police, said: “When we receive a complaint about any sort of antisocial behaviour we would take steps to bring about a conclusion which is acceptable to the parties involved and go to lengths to reach an amicable solution.

“This process may involve the issuing of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts. If this does not bring about a successful result and the antisocial behaviour breaches the tenancy agreement, then we have the option to take the matter to court to impose compliance with an agreement, or ultimately to repossess the property.”

This latest warning comes after a Crewkerne ketamine dealer was forced to pay back more than £16,000 of criminal gains.

Inspector Jackie Gold, head of south Somerset neighbourhood policing, said she is personally committed to ridding Crewkerne of drugs.

She said: “Crewkerne is a low-crime area and generally a safe place, but like any other town around the country, it’s got crime and we monitor crime trends very carefully. Part of my job is to keep Crewkerne as low in terms of crime as possible and keep it safe.“Drugs have a major impact on local communities like Crewkerne. It drives up crime such as burglary and car thefts because people need to fund their habits.

“Any drug dealing we deem to be serious business. We take a very dim view of it and personally I pull out all the stops to curtail any drug-dealing activities.”

PC Paskin is working with every local housing association in the area such as Yarlington and Knightstone.

He said: “We have had one person evicted from Rhydderch Way in January and are closely monitoring other areas of the town. “With antisocial behaviour and the drugs that propagate it, it affects other residents and their quality of life. People in the area notice an improvement in the standard of living right away when those responsible are evicted.”