VIEWS ON THE DRUG DEBATE

North Wales Police Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom has prodded the
sleeping giant that is the legalising drugs debate, an issue we are
still no closer as a society to tackling.

The outcome is usually that that we talk about it and then ignore it,
because no-one seems to have an answer.

On the one hand it is ridiculous to criminalise people who, after a
bad day at work, choose to snort a line of coke in their own homes.

It is equally pointless throwing drug addicts into jail, when they
clearly need help for their addiction and the underlying problems
that led to them becoming addicted in the first place.

Last week, I met three drug addicts. I am ashamed to say that I
expected them to be vacant, unintelligible and inarticulate.

I suppose I expected to find three 'stoners' who wanted nothing more
out of life that to get, well, stoned.

What I found were three articulate and opinionated young people who,
through individual and very different circumstances, found themselves
addicted to drugs.

What was frightening was that it was the clubbing scene that
introduced one of the men to drugs.

I was in that very same scene, like thousands of other youngsters.

A different set of decisions and friends and it could have been him
interviewing me.

Obviously, they all agreed with the chief constable that drugs should
be made legal, but not just so people can take drugs and not get nicked.

They want to see the decriminalisation of drugs so addicts don't have
to hang around alleyways, so addicts aren't taking drugs that are cut
with impurities.

None of them said that, if made legal, they should be available in
the way alcohol is available.

One of the men who takes drugs is a tee-totaler.

He asked me if I drank alcohol and the truth is that for me, and
millions of other people, alcohol is a big part of our lives.

He asked why his choice of drug should make him a criminal and not me.

And he has a point.

Rightly or wrongly I enjoy my glass of wine at the end of the day,
and I certainly wouldn't expect to end up in jail for drinking it.
Why should he?