TOP COP'S DRUG PLAN BACKED

CONTROVERSIAL police chief Richard Brunstrom today won backing for a
major overhaul of the UK drugs laws.

The Chief Constable of North Wales presented a paper to his local
Police Authority which will be given to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith
as part of a national consultation on drugs reform.

In it, Mr Brunstrom - notorious for his support for speed cameras and
tough stance against speeding motorists - argued for legalising all
drugs and making heroin available on the NHS.

He said there was a battle with "the flat earthers" who refuse to
look at the evidence suggesting drugs laws need a radical change.

Mr Brunstrom, who was appointed in 2001, said his report was not a
"crusade or proactive - it is a response based on a degree of radicalism".

"I am not proposing an anarchic free-for-all," he added.

Support

Members of the North Wales Police Authority this morning supported his report.

They agreed the paper should be sent to the Home Secretary and that a
response should be submitted to the Welsh Assembly, which is about to
conduct its own drugs consultation.

The authority also agreed their should be a review of the Misuse of
Drugs Act 1971 with the possible replacement of a Misuse of
Substances Act regulating all drugs including nicotine and alcohol
based on a new hierarchy of harm.

And they agreed to consider affiliation with the lobby group
Transform Drug Policy Foundation.