News (Media Awareness Project) - Ireland: Legalising Cannabis 'Would Result In State Being Sued |
| Title: | Ireland: Legalising Cannabis 'Would Result In State Being Sued |
| Published On: | 2006-08-29 |
| Source: | Irish Examiner (Ireland) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-13 04:40:06 |
LEGALISING CANNABIS "WOULD RESULT IN STATE BEING SUED BY CANCER PATIENTS"
NO Irish Government is going to legalise cannabis because it causes
cancer, a former Minister of State with responsibility for drugs said
yesterday. Fianna Fail MEP Eoin Ryan said the State would end up
being sued in the courts if it legalised cannabis, similar to tobacco
companies being sued in relation to cigarettes.
He was speaking at a conference in Dublin, which also heard calls
from a retired US chief of police for an end to the war on drugs and
a move towards legalisation. Mr Ryan said: aoeWhat politician is
going to get up and say legalise drugs. The problem is if a minister
wanted to legalise cannabis, he would get endless amounts of medical
evidence that cannabis is carcinogenic.a
He said when he was minister for drugs he had a large number of
scientific reports documenting the link between cannabis and cancer.
"What minister is going to stand up and legalise a substance that
will cause cancer in people. The State will be sued as the tobacco
companies are being sued. That is one main reason that I cannot see
it being legalised."
He pointed out that Ireland was also signatory to international
treaties prohibiting drugs.
Mr Ryan was responding to a speech by Jerry Cameron, a former US
chief of police and current head of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).
Mr Cameron, who described himself as a "recovering drug warrior" ,
said the war on drugs had not worked in the US or elsewhere.
"It doesn't matter how much money you put into it, no matter how many
arrests you make, we are trying to do something that simply cannot be done."
He said the US was spending $2,000 (1,564) a second and $69 billion
(54bn) a year on the war on drugs.
He said when he was chief of police, he used aggressive arrest
policies, including rounding up drug dealers in a bus and jailing them.
He said this cleared the streets for a day but that in a couple of
weeks even more violent dealers were competing for the trade.
Mr Cameron said marijuana was the most "demonised and the most
innocuous" of drugs, which caused far less harm than alcohol.
He said legalisation would not end the health problems caused by some
drugs, but would end the crime and violence caused by prohibition.
Ruardhri McAuliffe of drug users group UISCE said it was perfectly
legitimate for people to express moral disapproval towards drugs.
"Just because they hold that view doesn't give them the right to
criminalise people who use drugs," he said.
Rick Lines of the Irish Penal Reform Trust said the zero tolerance
approach by Justice Minister Michael McDowell towards drugs and
prison pushed prisoners towards injecting as a means of taking drugs
increasing the risk of spreading diseases.
Tony Geoghegan of Merchants Quay Ireland said the balance between the
criminal justice system and the health and social response to drugs
had swung towards the criminal justice syste
NO Irish Government is going to legalise cannabis because it causes
cancer, a former Minister of State with responsibility for drugs said
yesterday. Fianna Fail MEP Eoin Ryan said the State would end up
being sued in the courts if it legalised cannabis, similar to tobacco
companies being sued in relation to cigarettes.
He was speaking at a conference in Dublin, which also heard calls
from a retired US chief of police for an end to the war on drugs and
a move towards legalisation. Mr Ryan said: aoeWhat politician is
going to get up and say legalise drugs. The problem is if a minister
wanted to legalise cannabis, he would get endless amounts of medical
evidence that cannabis is carcinogenic.a
He said when he was minister for drugs he had a large number of
scientific reports documenting the link between cannabis and cancer.
"What minister is going to stand up and legalise a substance that
will cause cancer in people. The State will be sued as the tobacco
companies are being sued. That is one main reason that I cannot see
it being legalised."
He pointed out that Ireland was also signatory to international
treaties prohibiting drugs.
Mr Ryan was responding to a speech by Jerry Cameron, a former US
chief of police and current head of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).
Mr Cameron, who described himself as a "recovering drug warrior" ,
said the war on drugs had not worked in the US or elsewhere.
"It doesn't matter how much money you put into it, no matter how many
arrests you make, we are trying to do something that simply cannot be done."
He said the US was spending $2,000 (1,564) a second and $69 billion
(54bn) a year on the war on drugs.
He said when he was chief of police, he used aggressive arrest
policies, including rounding up drug dealers in a bus and jailing them.
He said this cleared the streets for a day but that in a couple of
weeks even more violent dealers were competing for the trade.
Mr Cameron said marijuana was the most "demonised and the most
innocuous" of drugs, which caused far less harm than alcohol.
He said legalisation would not end the health problems caused by some
drugs, but would end the crime and violence caused by prohibition.
Ruardhri McAuliffe of drug users group UISCE said it was perfectly
legitimate for people to express moral disapproval towards drugs.
"Just because they hold that view doesn't give them the right to
criminalise people who use drugs," he said.
Rick Lines of the Irish Penal Reform Trust said the zero tolerance
approach by Justice Minister Michael McDowell towards drugs and
prison pushed prisoners towards injecting as a means of taking drugs
increasing the risk of spreading diseases.
Tony Geoghegan of Merchants Quay Ireland said the balance between the
criminal justice system and the health and social response to drugs
had swung towards the criminal justice syste
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