This british conservative thinks drug prohibition is as intelligent as alcohol prohibition in US
Crispin Blunt suggested that legally regulating cannabis may well drag UK drug policy out of the dark ages.
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British MP and former Prisons Minister Crispin Blunt has said that the UK government needs to ‘destroy the criminal business model’ currently controlling illegal drugs.
Speaking at a fringe event at last week’s annual Conservative party conference, Blunt suggested that legally regulating cannabis may well drag UK drug policy out of the dark ages.
After the damage inflicted on her party by this year’s general election, where Prime Minister Theresa May lost ground to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party, the Conservatives are urgently looking for new policies to appeal to young voters.
The legal regulation of cannabis (currently a class B drug in the UK) would certainly fit the bill, according to Blunt, who stated that drug prohibition ‘was about as intelligent as the prohibition of alcohol in the United States.’ Blunt recommended the sale of cannabis at pharmacies to over 18s only, to ensure the safe purchase and consumption of the drug while cutting the criminal market out of the equation.
George McBride, Crime and Justice policy director for Volteface – a London based drug policy think tank – said:
“The most notable part of the Conservative party conference, aside from Theresa May’s car crash speech, was how poorly attended it was. However, this was not the case for debate sessions on cannabis and club drugs. The Tories failure to win young voters seems to be driving a (very welcome) interest in drug policy reform.”
Blunt’s suggestions were made at an event hosted by the Adam Smith Institute – ‘How to Stamp Out Street Cannabis,’ one of two drug policy debates co-hosted by Volteface. The other event – a panel on reducing drug related deaths in nightclubs – drew attention to the urgent need to better protect clubbers who use drugs.
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