MP BOB AINSWORTH'S DRUGS DECRIMINALISATION CALL SLAMMED BY OWN PARTY

COVENTRY MP Bob Ainsworth's call for hard drugs to be decriminalised
has been dismissed as "irresponsible" by the Labour leadership.

The Coventry North east Labour MP wants the production and supply of
drugs to be officially regulated.

As the Telegraph reported yesterday, the MP declared the war on drugs
had been "nothing but a disaster", and switching the trade from the
hands of criminals to doctors and pharmacies appeared to be the best
solution.

But his proposal was rejected by his own party leader and the
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Asked whether the Prime Minister thought Mr Ainsworth's ideas merited
consideration, David Cameron's spokesman said simply: "No."

And Labour leader Ed Miliband and a Labour MP who has led anti-drug
campaigns moved swiftly to distance themselves from his
"irresponsible" ideas.

"Bob's views do not reflect Ed's views, the party's view or indeed the
view of the vast majority of the public," a spokeswoman for Ed
Miliband said.

There was also a stinging retort from Labour MP John Mann, who carried
out an inquiry into hard drug use while Mr Ainsworth was drugs minister.

"He didn't know what he was talking about when I met him with my
constituents during my heroin inquiry and he doesn't know what he's
talking about now," he said.

But an insistent Mr Ainsworth declared: "My departure from the front
benches gives me the freedom to express my long held view that, whilst
it was put in place with the best of intentions, the war on drugs has
been nothing short of a disaster.

"I am not proposing the legalisation of heroin so we can all get
zonked out on the street corner," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"What I am saying is that heroin needs to be taken out of the hands of
the dealers, put into the hands of the medical profession, done in a
mass way to the extent that's necessary. We need to be bold, we need
some fresh thinking.

"This has been going on for 50 years now and it is not getting better
the drugs trade is as big and as powerful as it ever was."

Alex Stevens, professor in criminal justice at the University of Kent
and an expert in drugs, crime and public health policy, backed Mr Ainsworth.

He said: "My research shows that the 'war on drugs' is an ongoing and
costly failure which has imposed significant harm on the most
vulnerable communities."