Friday, August 5, 2011

Glasgow South Lib Dems back a regulated drug market, unlikely to get passed Tory/Lib Dem coalition but a step forward if Lib Dem Party policy












Dear All

I support the legalisation of drugs.

If you read this blog, it is a logical stance; we cannot stop drug use among the population and the ‘War on Drugs’ is a sham, a decades old ‘war’ of failure that is promoted to the masses, that politicians care.

Let us mention at this point that drugs can kill, it’s a fact.

But so will alcohol and tobacco, which are legal, regulated and taxed.

The drug market is a vast reserve of cash liquidity floated about that the State can tap into.

That money could do so much good for society.

But there is a problem, it called ‘Victorian values’, it is a bench mark set by politicians to show they ‘care’ about you and your community.

Walk about in Glasgow North East and ask do any of the political parties care about this place or the people?

It is an area of high social deprivation where people’s life chances are minimal and no one is helping them.

But if drugs were legalised then money could be pumped into areas such as this if politicians who are elected or ‘service’ that area would stand up and fight for it.

At present in Scotland, no one from any political party is standing up for Glasgow North East.

The drug debate has moved on because the current situation is untenable, the ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ approach has nothing to do with crime.

It is all to do with political appearance and garnering votes.

In England, the Liberal Democrats will vote to legalise cannabis and decriminalise all other personal drug use under plans put forward for approval at their party conference.

It is a toe in the water, although it is the right thing to do, they have acknowledged they need to go further and regulate the market.

It is not enough to decriminalise, we need to tap into the cash liquidity which could do so much in many areas of society.

Lib Dem party bosses have given the green light for a debate on the controversial proposal which would mean a ‘regulated market’ in marijuana overseen by the Government.

It is expect that party members will adopt the plan, making it official Lib Dem policy.

Typically MPs and drugs campaigners yesterday denounced the idea as likely to drag young people into a life of drug abuse. If people want to take drugs are we to believe before they do so that they give a crap about what the government thinks?

People will do what people want to do, whether it is illegal or not, it is a bogus argument.

The Lib Dem motion calls for an independent panel to examine how to set up ‘a strictly controlled and regulated cannabis market’.

This is something I have been calling for years, this means effectively legalising the Class B drug.

It says: ‘Possession of any controlled drug for personal use would not be a criminal offence.’

Instead of a punishment, police would send offenders to a panel ‘tasked with determining appropriate education, health or social interventions’.

This panel idea is nonsense, it is a soft sell to hedge their bets and draw support from others.

Have the courage to let the thing go mainstream.

The proposals are likely to be opposed by the Tories as well as the Labour Party, who have high profile members who were former drug users while at university.

But now they are hypocrites playing a game.

Unsurprising the plans were proposed by the Liberal Democrat constituency party in Glasgow South,

If this does become Lib Dem policy then it is unlikely to become law since changes in drugs legislation do not form part of the Coalition agreement.

It all falls down to a simple and inescapable proposition, who do you want drug money to go to, the government that can use the money to fund projects, treatment programmes and education.

Or drug dealers to drive around in big f*cking Audi’s and live in Mansions expanding their empires!

In it to win means we have to enter the drugs market to win the war on drugs, sadly, those in power have had little real success in a war that has last for about circa 50 years.

The ‘War on drugs’ is all about the ‘war’ to hang on to political office.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

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