SOurce: The Times
] Date:Friday 29 August

Subject; Why this Governemetn wont legalise drugs
and Soldiers on drugs

Contact: editor@thetimes.co.uk

Ann Taylor, who chairs the Cabinet's drugs committee,

insists that the narcotics war is not lost

Why this Government won't
legalise drugs

It is always difficult for any discussion on drugs to be
conducted in a calm and rational way and when it is
precipitated by the tragic shooting of a fiveyearold boy it is
not surprising that some of the analysis is somewhat blurred.

As chair of the Cabinet subcommittee on drugs misuse, I
welcome any debate about how society should deal with the
problems of drugs, but I am concerned at some of the
misconceptions that have entered into parts of the debate in
recent days.

For example, some drug users take drugs in what they
believe is a controlled recreational way, which leads some
people to say: "You won't beat drugs, so learn to live with
them." Too many parents of youngsters for whom this
approach has gone wrong can testify to the dangers of
turning a blind eye.

The recent debate has focused on two related issues. First, is
the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act still a reasonable basis for our
approach? And second: should we be tough on or
sympathetic to those who use drugs?

The fact that the Police Foundation has established a new
inquiry has raised the issue of reviewing the 1971 Act.
However, there is already an independent and highly
respected expert body the Advisory Council on the Misuse
of Drugs which regularly reviews drugs laws and reports to
government on key issues. At no stage has it ever
recommended wholesale revision of the 1971 Act. I firmly
believe we already know enough to start to contain and then
reduce the damage caused by drugs.

There is good reason for this. The logic of the legalisation
argument is flawed. The increase in drug misuse over the
past 25 years does not justify abandoning any law which
tries to control drugs. International conventions underpin the
drugs controlled by the 1971 Act reflecting worldwide
concerns about drug misuse.

The Government is not on a moral ego trip in controlling
drugs such as heroin and cocaine: most people are well
aware of their extremely dangerous physical and
psychological effects. Those who argue that cannabis and
Ecstasy are no more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco are
discounting the growing evidence about their short and
longterm health risks. And the consequences of drug misuse
do not anyway just affect the person who chooses to take
them. Whatever the legal framework, the demand for drugs
would still fuel demand for money to generate substantial
crime.

It is not good enough to say "the drugs war is lost". Tough
enforcement does have an impact on the availability of drugs
and the demand among young people. But being tough in
enforcing the law is by no means incompatible with
supporting addicts or educating our young people to make
informed judgments. Let us be clear about what is going on
in the real world.

"Half of the population under the age of 30 has used or is
using illegal drugs," wrote Simon Jenkins on this page two
days ago. Correct. But this disingenuously implies regular
bouts of drugtaking among vast numbers of young people.
Not so. Next month's British Crime Survey results for 1996
the most authoritative assessment of drug trends highlight
the fact that, while half of our young people do not and will
not take illegal drugs, most of those who have will only ever
try them once or twice.

So let us not patronise young people, and assume that they
are all "mad for it". Many young people are already quite
clear that their lives are diminished, not enriched, by the
"buzz" of mindaltering substances. There is increasing
evidence that local initiatives involving parents,
communities, agencies and young people themselves
provide the information and skills that youngsters need to
take sensible decisions.

For those who do get caught in the drugs trap, we need to
ensure that the right counselling and treatment services are
available. That is precisely why my Home Office colleagues
ludicrously stereotyped by Simon Jenkins are pushing
forward to give courts the power to make a drug testing and
treatment order, designed to get drug offenders out of the
crime and dependency cycle. It is desperately important that
while we are tough on enforcement, we are also sympathetic
and positive in the help we give to those who want to escape
the drugs trap.

This Government has already taken measures to develop
local Drug Action Teams across the country, to reverse
threatened cuts to 300 frontline Customs staff and to attack
root causes of longterm drug misuse particularly
unemployment and deprivation not least through the
Welfare to Work initiative.

But more is clearly needed. That is why the Prime Minister
will soon be appointing a Drug Tsar the UK AntiDrugs
Coordinator who will report directly to him. Working
across Government and with agencies and communities, this
key figure will review what is already in place and swiftly put
forward a new strategy that maximises all our resources and
energies.

Look ahead ten years. Any step along the legalisation route
and we can be sure that both demand for and use of drugs
would massively increase with no letup in organised crime
along with the creation of a dulled, unhealthy, selfish
society, desperate for the "buzz". This would be a deeply
worrying prospect.

I see the future somewhat differently. In ten years' time illegal
drugs will not have disappeared. But young people and their
parents will be better informed, treatment will be there for
those who need it and dealers will have a dwindling market.
But this will come about only if we continue to be tough on
enforcement against drugs and provide the opportunities to
give young people more hope for the future.

The author is Leader of the House of Commons.