06/01/2008 00:00:00
UK: Controversial copper fuels drugs debate
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NORTH Wales top cop Richard Brunstrom started the New Year in his usual
controversial way by going on Radio 4 to say ecstasy was safer than
aspirin, and that all drugs would be legal within a decade.
What a plonker. His prohibition argument seems to make sense when he
argues that legalising drugs would destroy a major source of organised
crime, and that banning substances doesn’t actually stop many people
from using them. But we all know deep down that legalising drugs would
eventually lead to a far greater problem and would be a terrible curse
on society.
You don’t have to look any further than what the Labour government has
done with alcohol and cannabis to realise that greater access to drugs
leads to more problems, not less. New Year’s Eve celebrations this year
were worse than any as emergency services dealt with alcohol-related
incidents and fights.
South Wales Police said there was a definite increase in the number of
999 calls compared to last year with a staggering 1,300 emergency calls
between midnight and 6am. Dyfed-Powys Police also had to deal with more
calls this year, 180 last year, 230 this year.
It was worse in the rest of the UK. London paramedics dealt with 1,825
calls by 4am, an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year. The West
Midlands had 1,400 calls in four hours, and 2,000 calls were received in
Scotland, a rise of 22 per cent.
Remember what Tony Blair said? Something about that 24-hour drinking
would make us more civilised, and if there was alcohol available all the
time people would drink less – just like in France. We all knew at the
time that that was utter rubbish.
The binge-drinking culture doesn’t keep to those continental rules. It
has its own simple rule: more drink available for longer hours, will
lead to more drink being drunk for longer hours.
And the result was always obvious – mayhem on our streets and more young
people at serious risk from dying of alcohol-related deaths.
Those are the dire consequences when you get rid of any kind of
prohibition, and that is exactly what would happen if you legalise hard
drugs.
How would you go about telling young people not to take cocaine or
heroin if it was legal? If it’s legal why shouldn’t they take it? And if
they like it, why shouldn’t they have more of it?
And by then the dealers will be savvy enough to know that they would
have to drop their prices to compete with the legal stuff, and once
hooked, you will still see crooks selling it and criminals stealing to
pay for it. Or is Richard Brunstrom (inset) also suggesting that he
gives it away for free?
Downgrading cannabis was meant to enable the police to spend more time
tackling Class A drugs. But magistrates are now calling for tougher laws
as more and more young children are arrested for offences of theft and
robbery to feed their cannabis habit. Even more adults have started to
take cannabis, and it’s no coincidence that Britain is now top of the
European league for cocaine use among 15 to 34-year-olds.
Richard Brunstrom and his supporters argue that the current laws aren’t
working. Maybe they’re not, but downgrading cannabis has also proved
that relaxing the current laws doesn’t work either. In the same way as
longer drinking hours has led to more alcohol-related problems on our
streets, downgrading cannabis has led to more people taking drugs, and
harder ones at that.
Maybe Wales didn’t suffer the very worst in alcohol-related incidences
over the New Year, but the worst photograph was taken in Cardiff. Six
very young girls had their photos in the Daily Mail – and on the front
page of the Express – wearing nothing but white knickers and white
scarves, white leg warmers and high heels.
One of them was minus the high heels – barefoot walking in the city
centre. These girls didn’t look pretty or clever. It was the most
depressing photograph, and proof of how the standards of decency too
have been downgraded in the last few years.
Richard Brunstrom should think about his own force’s inability to deal
with drug pushers instead of preaching for the easier option of just
legalising the lot of them.
He has zero tolerance for hapless drivers who might be caught driving
just a couple of miles faster than the limit, it’s about time he
concentrated on those who take drugs and cause real harm to society.
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/
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Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=13110
Author:
Wales On Sunday via UKCIA
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