'MORAL PANIC' OF DRUG LAWS ISOLATES USERS AND FUELS CRIME, SAYS REPORT

MOST people who take illegal drugs do not cause any harm to
themselves or anyone else, according to a study which calls for the
current "crude" ABC classification system be abandoned.

The two-year RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs argued that Britain's
drug laws should be replaced by a system which recognises that
drinking and smoking can cause more harm.

Current laws are "driven by a moral panic" and a more effective drugs
policy would focus on harm reduction rather than cutting crime, the
commission's report concluded.

The report said: "The use of illegal drugs is by no means always
harmful any more than alcohol use is always harmful. The evidence
suggests that a majority of people who use drugs are able to use them
without harming themselves or others."

The flaws in drug policy are demonstrated, it claimed, by the
categorisation of ecstasy along with heroin and cocaine as a Class A
drug. Such a classification "probably does most to undermine the
credibility of our drug laws in the eyes of that section of the
population that is most likely to use drugs: namely, the hundreds of
thousands of people for whom 'dance drugs' are a routine feature of a
good night out," the report said.

The report provoked anger from Scottish police and some politicians.

Margaret Mitchell, the justice spokeswoman for the Scottish
Conservatives, said: "There is no question that present policy is
flawed. Drug deaths are rising, as is drug-related crime. But any
suggestion that drugs are not necessarily harmful is only going to
make problems worse."

Graeme Pearson, the director-general of the Scottish Crime and Drug
Enforcement Agency, said: "It is not our experience, or the
problematic 51,000 drug abusers and their families and communities
across Scotland, that use of illicit substances can be harmless. The
demand we see from our communities is to rid these areas of illegal
drugs and the organised crime behind it."

The report recommended the Misuse of Drugs Act be scrapped in favour
of a wider-ranging Misuse of Substances Act, which would include
alcohol and tobacco. The focus of drugs education should shift from
secondary to primary schools and so-called "shooting galleries" -
rooms where users can inject drugs - should also be introduced.

Instead of the "criminal justice bias" of current policy, the
commission argued that treating addiction should be seen as a health
and social problem rather than simply a cause of crime.

Jail sentences should only be given for the most serious drug-related
crimes and addicts should be given jobs and housing as part of
treatment. It also recommended wider access to prescription heroin.

Professor Anthony King, of Essex University, the Commission chairman
said: "The quickest way into treatment is to commit a crime - that to
us seems a little bit perverse."

Susan Deacon, a former health minister who sat on the commission,
said: "I don't expect people to agree with every recommendation but
we've shone a light on what's really going on with drug use, as well
as which policies are working - and which aren't."

The Law The harm caused by substances, including alcohol and tobacco,
rather than outdated classifications should be at the heart of future
drugs laws.

The commission does not recommend legalising drugs outlawed under the
existing 30-year-old Misuse of Drugs Acts, but says that the rigid
ABC classification system it relies on should be replaced with a more
flexible "index of harm".

In a YouGov survey of drug users, 80 per cent said that their
knowledge of the current ABC classifications had little or no impact
on their choice of which drugs, if any, to use.

Treatment Drug users should not have to be criminalised to receive
treatment, the report says.

The commission says drug users should have a greater range of
treatment options, including heroin prescribing if appropriate,
better and more consistent methadone prescribing, more community
support and a wider range of counselling and psychological therapies.

Treatment services need to be better tailored for specific groups
such as women, minority ethnic groups and elderly users.

Drug consumption rooms, or "shooting galleries", should be made
available for users.

Education Drugs education should be concentrated in primary schools,
according to the report.

It says current drug education policy has failed and insists the
"only practical message" for universal drugs education, in later
stages of secondary education at least, is harm reduction.

Problems identified include a lack of training for teachers, too much
focus on "extreme" consequences of drug use and a focus on a "just
say no" message.

Last week Cathy Jamieson, the justice minister, announced a
"refocusing" of the drugs strategy in Scotland, with new emphasis on
drug prevention and education.

Supply Police should concentrate on bringing down organised crime
gangs rather than chasing major drugs seizures, the commission says.

The report urges a switch in focus on the supply front from seizing
drugs to catching the "Mr Bigs" of the criminal chain.

In Scotland, narcotics worth AUKP47.8 million were seized by drug-
enforcement officers in 2005-6, double the value of the previous year's haul.

The report says: " Enforcement agencies are keen their performance
should be assessed in terms related to their capacity to protect the
public from harm."