Transform: Govt drug policy 'spinning failure into success'

Wednesday, 25, Jul 2007 12:00

The Transform Drug Policy Foundation, a charitable think tank which campaigns against drug prohibition, has written off the new consultation on drug policy as "spin" and claimed many of the government figures contained in it are misleading.

"They say Class A drug use is stable," said Danny Kushlick, Transform's director.

"But they don't tell you it's stable at the highest level it's ever been and the highest level in Europe.

"They're twisting it all the way through, they're spinning failure into success."

Speaking exclusively to politics.co.uk, Mr Kushlick argued claims in the consultation document that drug use has fallen were in fact misapplications of figures showing cannabis use declining from 26.2 per cent to 21.4 per cent.

But the government seems keen to undo the move that drugs charities claim prompted that decline – reclassification from a Class B to a Class C drug.

"They admit there's been no change on street prices, which is the best way to measure success in tackling supply," he added.

"We still have a case where cocaine and heroin are worth more than their weight in gold. That is the failure of prohibition.

"Government policy is based on prohibition, and prohibition has failed."

Mr Kushlick claims criminal costs following from the criminalisation of drugs have cost in excess of £100 billion over the last decade, and are set to do so again if the policy is not changed.

"There's no discussion on alternatives to prohibition, which the home affairs select committee in 2002 and the prime minister's strategy unit report of 2003 both called for," he continued.

"And the fact the government isn't engaging in a debate about alternatives to prohibition is reprehensible.

"This is about the criminalisation of disadvantage. It's the most damaged and marginalised people in the UK, and indeed in Afghanistan and around the world, who are most affected by this."