Exactly what kinds of legal changes do those in favour of drug policy reform advocate?
Broadly there are two changes to the law that reformers advocate. Decriminalisation would remove criminal sanctions for possessing small quantities of illegal drugs for personal consumption. Instead of facing prison or a fine and having a criminal record which might harm their employment prospects, drug users might instead face an administrative sanction which involves going before a panel which assesses the individual’s need for treatment, deliucation and refers them on to other services where necessary. Many drug policy reform advocates want to go further and bring the manufacture, distribution and supply of currently illegal drugs under government control and regulation. Advocates of regulation rightly point out that it is rather nonsensical to regard drug use as primarily a health issue that does not require punishment (as decriminalisation implies), while leaving control of manufacture, distribution, supply and marketing in the hands of organised criminals. They argue that safeguarding public health and security, as well as savings in policing and criminal justice, is far more achievable if the government were to take control of the drug market.
Where have drug laws been liberalised recently?
I dislike the word liberalisation to describe recent drug policy innovations. ‘Liberalisation’ suggests a culture of permissiveness and a lack of appreciation of the dangers of drug use. I see the reforms that have been successful in other countries as much more ‘tough on drugs’ than current policies in Britain, as they are more effectively restricting the ability of drugs to do harm. Portugal have pioneered the decriminalisation approach that I describe above. Switzerland have pioneered heroin-assisted treatment clinics where addicts receive pharmaceutical heroin under medical supervision. Both of these approaches are being adopted elsewherein Europe, and decriminalisation is becoming fairly widespread in Latin America.
What were the results of more liberal policies in those cases?
In Portugal the surge in drug use that some had predicted did not come to pass. Indeed, numbers in treatment doubled, injecting drug use reduced substantially, transmission of HIV in drug users dropped, and the prison population reduced by one sixth. In Switzerland, and all other countries where heroin-assisted treatment has been trialled, the individuals receiving heroin in clinics have seen great health benefits, massively reduced their use of street heroin, the amount of crime they commit and the funding they provide to organised crime. The reforms in both Portugal and Switzerland have proved very popular with the public and politicians too.
How likely is reform in the UK within the foreseeable future?
The Liberal Democrats have just adopted as policy a commitment to an independent review of current policy and a consideration of the decriminalisation and legal regulation alternatives. I hope that our coalition partners will recognise that we can’t afford to persist with very expensive policies which are not working, and that this review is urgently necessary. Growing numbers of important British and international figures have called for reform in recent years, but seemingly not yet enough to blow away the political cowardice that still holds back those with the power to make things happen.
