LEGALISE ALL DRUGS, SAY LIB DEMS

Senior Liberal Democrats have urged the party's leadership to
consider backing the legalisation of all drugs.

Chris Davies MEP said the "war on drugs" had been lost and the only
way to undermine the criminals controlling the trade was
legalisation.

Speaking at a fringe meeting at the party's Brighton conference, he
urged Lib Dems to lobby home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg to change
policy.

He was backed by education spokesman Baroness Walmsley.

She told the meeting it was time to "think the unthinkable" on the
drugs issue and consider legalisation.

"I think the issue is a no-brainer. We have got to go along this
direction," she said.

Drug Capital

It would contribute to harm reduction, tackle gun culture, save police
time and reduce the amount of drug-related crime including theft.

"We are not talking about selling penny packets in a sweet shop. We
are talking about sensible controls," she told the meeting.

She urged party members to "perhaps write to Nick Clegg and say we
want more discussion in the party".

She denied the stance was seeking to turn Britain into the drug
capital of the world.

"The last thing we would want is for any child to take drugs," she
said.

"But also people should have the freedom to put into their bodies what
they want without any more harm than they would want."

'Ammunition'

Mr Davies, who is an outspoken campaigner for the decriminalisation of
drugs, said he wanted the Lib Dem policy on drugs to be "looked at
again".

"I hope Nick Clegg will explore this issue again. I know from brief
talks with him he is mindful to do so but I know he is mindful of
giving ammunition to his opposition," he told the meeting.

The North West MEP likened the "war on drugs" to the Emperor's new
clothes. "We keep saying 'war on drugs' year in year out but it
achieves nothing.

"It's time to stop pointing and laughing at this piece of
nonsense."

Mr Davies said he had never taken an illegal drug but had once been
arrested for possession of a tiny quantity of cannabis he was using to
illustrate a point at a public meeting.

'Licensed Outlet'

He said state licensed drug dealers could undercut illegal dealers on
price and put them out of business.

He also called for a debate about how drugs would be sold once they
had been legalised, "if you are going to sell it through a licensed
outlet, a chemist's shop or something like a sex shop".

He argued that legalisation could not just occur within the UK but had
to happen around the world.

He urged party members to lobby the United Nations, which meets in
Vienna in March to reconsider the 1961 convention on illegal drugs,
which guides policy around the world.

'Fighting Hard'

Inspector Jim Duffy, chairman of the Strathclyde Police Federation,
backed Mr Davies' call for legalisation.

Stressing that he was speaking in a personal capacity and not on
behalf of Strathclyde Police, the inspector said: "We are not winning
the war against illegal drugs.

"We are fighting hard, becoming smarter and sharper; as are those we
are fighting against. If the current rules of engagement do not change
then we are destined to continue to fail."

He said drug addicts should be given access to substances that "do
exactly what they say on the tin".

"Lives could be saved if addicts purchasing regulated drugs could be
sure of their strength and purity," he added.