LET'S ABSORB LESSONS FROM THE US

I Read John Pye's letter (Never forget the influence of this
devastating rug) with some sadness. Like all police officers (and I
was one for 34 years) he knows that in order to prove a case you need
to assemble the evidence. Like many, he doesn't carry that thinking
with him when it comes to arguing for a particular policy or course of
action. If John Pye's position is the correct one, then alcohol should
be banned tomorrow. I was one of the first members of the Durham
Constabulary Drugs Squad when it was formed in 1969 to deal with the
results of The Misuse Of Drugs Act of that year. The UK hadn't had a
problem until then, but we had learnt from the experience of the USA,
which demonstrated such startling success with its prohibition of
alcohol some 50 years earlier, and we wanted to follow them.

Well, we've succeeded. The rate of consumption of all drugs has grown
beyond our wildest hopes, the profits to be made are higher than
anyone could have expected, and the proliferation of guns on our
streets is moving towards the levels of Chicago in the 1930s.

Are we able to learn from this? I remain confident that we will. The
USA did eventually repeal its laws on the prohibition of alcohol. Let
us destroy the market which we've created and stop encouraging young
men to make so much money out of the misery of others.

Paul Whitehouse

Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Former Chief Constable of Sussex