WHY ALL DRUGS SHOULD BE LEGALISED BY RINGO

Campaigners' Fury at Ex-Beatle

Ringo Starr has enraged anti-drug campaigners by calling for the
legalisation of all drugs. The former Beatle said preventative campaigns
were a waste of money. "Why don't they just make it all legal?" he asked.
"I don't think the campaigns of the government in this country or America
are doing anything. I think it's an absolute waste of resources, the way
they're going about it.

"You go to clubs, everybody's taking stuff, that's how it is. Most lawyers
have inhaled, they've had a joint, they've had a snort, they've had a
drink. Then they carry on with their lives."

"The downside of all that, like Jimi Hendrix, is we have lost a lot of
musicians. But any law wouldn't have stopped him taking it."

His comments, in an interview with The Big Issue magazine to promote his
latest album, drew a stinging rebuke.

"He is absolutely insane if he thinks legalising drugs will help anyone,"
said Ron Alexander, of the drug treatment charity Turning point. !He
would think twice if he saw the thousands of lives that would be ended and
ruined if his views became law."

Starr, who checked himself into an American clinic after a drug and
drink-fuelled fight with his ex-wife in 1988, told The Big Issue: "I'm glad
I'm still vertical. A lot of people don't make it. It's easy for me to
sit with you and reminisce but it's a very chancy life you take when you
take drugs and alcohol."

The first large-scale study into cannabis's ability to relieve pain and
muscle spasm will be held next year. GW Pharmaceuticals has been licensed
by the Home Office to grow up to 20,000 cannabis plants, worth a fortune on
the black market, at a secret greenhouse complex in the south of England.

About 24 patients, including many with multiple sclerosis and spinal
injuries, are expected to take part in the first phase of the trial. They
will breathe in cannabis vapour through specially designed inhalers.