cannabisnews.com: Kennedy: Cannabis Must Not Be Taboo!





Kennedy: Cannabis Must Not Be Taboo!
Posted by FoM on August 16, 1999 at 11:14:34 PT
Source: The Independent
CHARLES KENNEDY, the new Liberal Democrat leader, defended his call for a radical overhaul of Britain's drug laws yesterday, and claimed that MPs were lagging behind public opinion on the issue. 
Mr Kennedy said that a Royal Commission should be created to look at the decriminalisation of cannabis and other soft drugs. The 39-year-old MP, who says he has never experimented with cannabis, is the first leader of a mainstream political party to urge such a major re-think of drugs policy. He said the issue of drugs, the effect on crime rates and use for medicinal purposes should be subject to a thorough review by Parliament. Although proposals for a Royal Commission have been official Liberal Democrat policy for more than four years, the former leader, Paddy Ashdown, avoided the issue in the belief that it could damage the party's election chances. Mr Kennedy made clear yesterday he was "under no illusions" that his critics would use his comments against him, but refused to accept that decriminalisation was a political minefield. "I don't know a household in the country that's not worried, extremely anxious about the whole issue of drugs," he told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend. "It's what people are talking about out there. The fact that journalists and politicians in and around Whitehall and Westminster are not addressing these day-to-day concerns in a mature, considered and adult fashion is wrong." As a "responsible politician", it was only right to ask why there were differing sentences handed out by the courts, and why senior police officers wanted change, he said. "I think we owe it to this country to have a better, more informed discussion and I think the best way is through a Royal Commission." Downing Street insisted last night there was no need for an inquiry. "Tony Blair is against decriminalisation of cannabis and sees no value in a Royal Commission," a spokesman said. Ann Widdecombe, the Shadow Home Secretary, said that Mr Kennedy's remarks were "entirely the wrong signal" to send out to young people. "Charles Kennedy clearly has yet to learn how a responsible party leader should behave," she said. "This is an unbelievable first commitment which will alienate many of the people who put a cross by his name in the recent leadership election and who voted Liberal Democrat two years ago." But support for Mr Kennedy came from an unexpected quarter when the Bishop of Edinburgh admitted he had tried cannabis and called for legalisation to be discussed. The Most Rev Richard Holloway, 65, said he had tried the drug and found it "disappointing", but believed cigarettes and alcohol were far more harmful. Mike Goodman, director of the drugs charity Release, also welcomed Mr Kennedy's comments. "For a leader of one of the three main political parties to be making this statement now represents the drug debate coming of age," he said. "Now is the time to talk, and consider not only the case to reform the drug laws, but also how a reformed system could be put into practice." Pubdate: August 16, 1999Tories Consider Instant Fine for Cannabis Users-8/15/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2507.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on August 17, 1999 at 09:36:25 PT:
UK: High Time To Act On Drugs!
Pubdate: August 16, 1999 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: Guardian Media Group 1999 Contact: letters guardian.co.uk Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Kennedy's Right, We Need A New Approach! At last a major party leader has asked for a review of our drug laws. For far too long, the leaders of both major parties have been petrified of being seen to be soft on drugs. Rather than listen to the police, drug researchers and youth workers, both major parties have preferred to meekly follow the glib "war-on-all-drugs" line of the tabloid press.Yesterday Charles Kennedy, the new leader of the third party, the Liberal Democrats, broke rank and called for a royal commission on the use of drugs. Standby for some ritual voices of protest. Ann Widdecombe, the Tory spokeswoman, was quick to air her opposition, while a government spokesman could see no value in a royal commission because the prime minister was against the legalisation of cannabis. But the challenge is much bigger than that narrow issue. Our current law - the misuse of drugs act - was enacted 28 years ago. Since then the scene has been totally transformed. There have been huge shifts in behaviour, social attitudes and drug use. National surveys show one out of four young people has used at least one illegal drug. Some regional surveys have doubled these figures. Millions have tried cannabis. Drug researchers have shown that most young people who use illicit drugs are sociable, sensible and in total control of their recreational use. But a minority have a serious addiction problem, which is posing a serious challenge to society. One-fifth of all people arrested in Britain are now on heroin. A typical addict requires pounds 10,000 a year to finance the habit. There are an estimated 300,000 heroin addicts in the country. Crack costs twice as much, but has much fewer addicts for the moment. A new report this week from Nacro (the National Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders) will suggest one-third of all property crime now involves drugs.Thank goodness Kennedy spoke up. A new young leader, anxious to reconnect non-voters with the political system, is sensibly talking about issues which are raised everyday in schools, homes and pubs. Where he went wrong was in his call for a royal commission. An independent national commission has been examining current procedures and their legal framework for two years and is due to report early in the new year. It has pulled together experts from a wide field - police, law, psychiatry, pharmacology, mental and social welfare, criminology, moral philosophy and the media. Hopefully we will not need a royal commission.Attitudes are already shifting. People are more aware of the complex nature of the problem and the futility of demonising all drugs. Why waste police time on soft drugs when hard drugs are so much more serious? The police helped pioneer this shift and would have gone even further but for being stopped by Michael Howard, who as home secretary opted for a hardline but ineffective political response. So what is not working? First the law. It is too blunt and unsophisticated. Until Howard intervened, police cautions for soft drugs had increased tenfold in a decade, but because we do not have a national policy, arbitrary justice was the result. It depended on where you were caught and who was on the bench. The new drugs czar is putting more emphasis on treatment and prevention, but needs more political support if a serious redistribution of resources is to be achieved. We have long argued for Britain to adopt the Dutch approach: decriminalise rather than legalise soft drugs. It is time for action, but even a serious debate would be progress. 
UK: High Time To Act On Drugs!
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 16, 1999 at 15:12:00 PT:
Kennedy Speaks Up for Drug Law Review
August 16 1999Politics & GovernmentBy Roland WatsonChief Political Correspondenthttp://www.the-times.co.uk/ CHARLES KENNEDY flirted with political controversy yesterday by embracing a wholesale review of Britain's drug laws. The new Liberal Democrat leader said the issue was critical to every family in the land and deserved more serious attention than the other two major parties were prepared to give it. Although the Liberal Democrats are in favour of a royal commission on the decriminalisation of cannabis, it was an issue that Paddy Ashdown, Mr Kennedy's predecessor, shrank from. However, less than a week after inheriting Mr Ashdown's crown, Mr Kennedy indicated that he was prepared to tackle the issue head-on. He said that those who insisted Britain had got it right over drugs were out of touch and that voters would appreciate the party's honesty for saying so. Mr Kennedy said: "One of the vital things about this party is that it can discuss issues of this sort. It needs to remain ahead of the game. I think that there are some newspaper editors who are actually behind the agenda in terms of what people talk about out there." Mr Kennedy's comments will delight the party's grassroots, though they may alarm its more pragmatic members. His move was seen as the first strong signal that he intends to be a very different leader from Mr Ashdown, who strove for respectability and made it his political life's work to rid it of its woolly hats and sandals image. The comments put the Liberal Democrats squarely at odds with both of the other main parties. A government spokesman said: "Tony Blair is against decriminalisation of cannabis and sees no value in a royal commission." Ann Widdecombe, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: "Charles Kennedy clearly has yet to learn how a responsible party leader should behave. "This is an unbelievable first commitment which will alienate many of the people who put a cross by his name in the recent leadership election and who voted Liberal Democrat two years ago." Bishop told 'get real' Anti-drugs campaigners have condemned an Anglican bishop after he admitted that he had used cannabis and supported calls for its legalisation. Liz Harrison, the chairwoman of Locals Against Drugs, said the Right Rev Richard Holloway, Bishop of Edinburgh, should stay "in the real world" and see the damage done by drugs to the next generation. 
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