LEGALISE ALL DRUGS WORLDWIDE, SAYS MOWLAM

Mo Mowlam, the former cabinet minister responsible for drugs policy, is
calling for the international legalisation of the drugs trade as part of a
more effective drive to combat terrorism.

Writing in the Guardian today, Ms Mowlam says: "Rather than bombing
civilians in various Muslim countries, the United States and Britain should
begin to take a more intelligent approach to the international drugs trade,
namely to legalise it internationally."

Ms Mowlam, already an advocate of the legalisation of cannabis in Britain,
is unlikely to find her latest proposal embraced by Downing Street but she
will find support from some drugs specialists, who believe the battle to
stop trafficking, with its inextricable links with terrorism, cannot succeed
through mere suppression.

In her article she joins another ex-cabinet minister, Chris Smith, in
questioning the need to topple Saddam Hussein, arguing instead that an
effort to neutralise the illegal trade will do more to win the war against
terrorism.

She points out that the international drugs trade is estimated to be worth
around $400bn a year, representing about 8% of world trade. She suggests
that legalisation and regulation of the trade, requiring international
action, will isolate the terrorists.

She also cites Republicans within the US administration, some of them in the
state department, who admit that terrorist groups are increasingly using
drug trafficking as a source of revenue.

She writes: "Drugs and terrorism are linked and are set to become more so.
Legalisation of drugs would stop this connection: it would begin to solve
many of the problems caused by drugs today and would isolate the
terrorists".

Ms Mowlam stood down as MP for Redcar last year, partly due to her
frustration at the government's slowness in moving to a softer line on drugs
issues.