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You
are in Politics and law The
policies of the parties in
2001
The
Conservatives
The conservatives have, in the past, been firmly against any relaxation of the
law. During the government of Margaret Thatcher, throughout the 80's, there were
a series of anti-drug campaigns ("heroin screws you up", "drugs,
worth the risk?" and others), but cannabis was simply a taboo subject.
During
the John Major years the legalisation campaign became more vocal and the whole
issue of drugs became a major issue, not least of all caused by the explosion
of "Rave" - the dance culture fueled by MDMA and LSD, cannabis, of course,
featured as a substance widely used as for chilling out. The
government hit back with a series of repressive laws, including an increase in
the fines for cannabis possession and there was much talk of further repression
to come. In
1995, they launched a new policy called "Tackling drugs together", which,
amongst other objectives, sought to prevent drug support agencies campaigning
for a change in the law. At the time of writing, this is still the basis of UK
drug policy. However,
in the autumn of 2000, after they had been in opposition for nearly four years,
the speech of Anne Widdecombe calling for a crack down on cannabis was torn apart
by the police and media. This was followed in May 2001 by the second crushing
defeat at a general election and the resignation of William Hauge, the party leader.
The
"libertarian" wing of the party lost it's bid for the leadership when
Mr Portillo failed to win the party's backing in the leadership race. The eventual
winner was Ian Duncan Smith, a hardcore right winger. So
at this time the,
party is still in some disarray, the
tensions they have between the "IDS" wing of Eurosceptics and the Libertarians
and pro-euros means this section will need updating soon. The
parties drugs policy is currently being reviewed. The
conservative party website
LabourLabour
took over from the Conservatives in 1997 when they won the first of their landslide
victories and we all began to look forward to a period of change, our hopes were
high, for a short while. Jack
Straw, the then Home Secretary soon poured cold water on our hopes when he stood
up for his keynote speech at that first conference and announced "We will
not legalise, decriminalise or otherwise legitimise the use of any illegal drug".
There was to be no change. Instead,
they appointed a "Drug Tsar" (officially known as the UK anti-drug coordinator),
following the American model and
the old Tackling drugs together was given a makeover, but not much changed. To
be fair, there was a shift of emphasis away from enforcement towards treatment
of addiction, but very little changed and Keith Hellawell was generally regarded
as something of a flop, he was dropped after the 2001 election and the new Home
Secretary, David Blunkett, has taken over control of drug policy Although
Labour followed the prohibitionist line throughout their first period in office,
there were notable exceptions within their ranks, foremost amongst them was Paul
Flynn (MP for Newport) who introduced an Early Day Motion (EDM) supporting the
medical use of cannabis (click here).
Paul wrote an article for UKCIA which you can read here Labour
has so far remained utterly opposed to a change in the law however, and the first
comments from David Blunkett when he took over from Jack Straw were not encouraging.
However the reality of the drugs situation now in the UK means that cannabis law
enforcement must take a lower priority to the problems caused by such substances
as crack cocaine and illegal heroin, and the police have sent a very clear message
to him by announcing a policy which amounts to decriminalisation, at least in
London. The
Home Secretary, David Blunkett annouced that he intended to downgrade cannabis
to Class C within the Misuse of Drugs Act on 23rd October. Time
will tell how things develop. The Labour
party website
Lib
DemsThe
Libdems have reviewed their drugs policy, this from Helen Belcher, the Policy
officer for the Libdems on 30th October 2001:
| This
review has been running for over a year and will be publising its report in in
under 3 months time, in January 2002. The
report will be debated in March 2002, in five months time. The
Liberal Democrats believe that while Blunkett's announcement (to reclassify cannabis
to class C) was welcome, it is illogical to just look at one drug and only to
look at the punishment for using it. From
the work done by the review it has been made clear that we need a much broader
response to the current increase in drug use and abuse involving all sorts of
currently illegal drugs such as Ecstasy, LSD and Heroin. Liberal
Democrats believe that unless there is a real difference in how we deal with drug
addiction we will not make any significant change in the tragic course of harmed
individuals, ruined lives and knock on crime. We are determined that policy should
be evidence led and responsible and accept that it may need to be radical as well. |
They
voted to call for the Legalisation of cannabis at their spring conference in March
2002. This section will be properly updated soon. Visit
the Lib dem website
Plaid
Cymru The
Party of Wales conference of September, 2001 voted overwhelmingly to change their
policy concerning the use of cannabis. The
motion, presented by Merthyr General election candidate Robert Hughes who recorderd
the biggest swing in Britain at the polls in June, was passed despite leading
party members speaking against it. It
called for the legalisation of cannabis without restriction for medicinal use
and after a successful amendment laid down the licensing of registered outlets
for recreational use. "This
is an important step forward for drug policy in Britain. As a party with 4 MP's,
17AM's and two MEP's this is the first mainstream party policy decision that really
starts to tackle the issue. Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales has yet again led
the way," said Mr Hughes. During
his proposal of the motion delivered in Welsh Mr Hughes criticised present govermental
policy as ineffective, drawing on the serious problems with other substances including
heroin in the South Wales Valleys. "In
order to combat serious, life-destroying substance abuse we need all the money,
time and resources possible possible. By carrying on the crusade against cannabis
use we are simply not achieveing this and more pertaintly failing our communities
who suffer from hard-drug related crime," he added. Plaid
also call for an awareness campaign around cannabis to discourage use. Visit
their website E-mail
Plaid |
The
Green Party of England and WalesThe
Greens have by far the most radical drugs policy of any major UK political party.
Regarding Cannabis they call for it's full legalisation, coupled with a harm reduction
approach to all drug use. Visit
the Green Party website
The
Green Party drugs policy
Scottish
National Party SNPCannabis
use & scots law (12/5/00) In
view of the shocking number of deaths in Glasgow this week among heroin users
and the admission by Scottish Executive Drugs Policy Unit members that research
on the topic is incomplete and unable to provide policy makers with information
necessary for a cohesive policy on drugs use, the SNP urges the Scottish Parliament
to make a start to bridging the research gap on drug use by establishing a Commission
of experts and lay persons to examine and report on social and medical factors
which might require changes to be made to Scots Law and the workings of the criminal
justice system in relation to the use of cannabis in Scotland. National
Conference (26/9/97)
Drugs
policy The
SNP acknowledges that there is no one distinct drug problem and no one distinct
solution. We believe that Government has a clear responsibility to deliver clear,
realistic and effective policy to deal with the drugs situation in Scotland. The
SNP calls on the following measures to be put into place: Strategy A
national drugs strategy in Scotland is needed to direct policy and funding to
the numerous, various groups/organisations and authorities working in this field.
The problems encountered by a multi-agency approach should be addressed and clear
communication lines put in place. If necessary, rationalising and streamlining
of drug support bodies should take place. A
realistic, pragmatic approach to reducing demand for drugs should be adopted with
accessible, informed education and harm limitation forming part of this approach. Quality
and regular on-going research should be carried out so that successes and failures
of any particular initiatives in any part of the country can be monitored, lessons
learned and, importantly, shared. Funding sources should be stabilised so that
organisations can plan and continue to exist in the long-term. Poverty
and economic and social problems facing young people in particular must be dealt
with. There is also a need to acknowledge the changes in youth culture which have
occurred in recent years. A
Listening Approach Youth
forums of young people should be set up and consulted on a variety of issues in
order that policy makers can keep in touch with the ever-changing drug scene. Information
and Research As
the drugs scene is a constantly changing phenomenon, any framework needs to allow
the rapid dissemination and collection of current information on drug use and
abuse. An audit of drugs support facilities is necessary, specifically: Targets
should be set as to the percentage of drug misusers that the Scottish Drug Misuse
Database encompasses. Specifically, the database should be expanded to include
information from needle exchanges and generic social work. The
setting up and co-ordination by the Scottish Office of a Scotland-wide programme
of research with security of funding. The
collection and analysis of drug-related morbidity on the Scottish Drug Misuse
Database. The
establishment of a mechanism by the Scottish Criminal Statistics Committee to
record all drug-related crime. The
recording of drug misuse by the social work authorities at the point of referral
for social work services to ensure comprehensive and reliable information is collected. Communication,
Education and Information Provision "Social
information" sessions in schools should become the responsibility of community
health and community education services with a statutory responsibility on secondary
schools to set aside time for these sessions. Teachers should have the responsibility
for education on drug issues in primary schools. In
each Drugs Action Team area, teams of people who have direct experience of the
drugs scene from a variety of backgrounds (eg. Social work departments, health
services, voluntary organisations) should be seconded as part of their regular
work to form a "Drugs communication team" to work in schools, with parents
and community groups to provide information about drugs. These groups would come
under the direction of community health services. Youth
Culture The
SNP supports initiatives to encourage Safer Dancing events and supports guidelines
for good practise at dance events. Funding There
is a need to stabilise funding for those agencies dealing with drugs and to review
the source and provision of funding to those working in the drugs field, specifically:
The
"ring-fencing" of Community Care allocations to local authorities for
residential services. ·The
costs of alternative forms of custody in residential units for offenders with
drug problems should be borne out of criminal justice, rather than health board
or social work department funding.
An assessment of health board drug service costs should be made and drug service
funding should be made out of a specific "ring-fenced" allocation. Drug
services should be seen as justifiable expenditure in their own right and not
as part of public health funding. The
Scottish Office should carry out an assessment to provide a full picture of local
authority expenditure on drug misuse in Scotland. Hard
Drug Abuse The
following provisions should be made A
planned and clearly defined detoxification service with appropriate aftercare. Adequate
staffing at the crisis centres to provide professional advice round the clock. Six
to twelve month residential rehabilitation for prisoners. More
crisis intervention centres. GP's
Role There
should be - ·A
regular review by GPs of their long term prescribing of all drugs of potential
abuse to individual patients. ·An
extension of undergraduate medical training to cover training on drugs and more
continuing education to cover drugs issues. Family
Support There
should be support for families having to deal with a family member abusing drugs.
Support must also be given to existing groups and help given to start family groups
where none exist at present. Drug
Rehabilitation in Prisons The
following actions should be taken - The
re-appraisal of mandatory drug testing in prisons. Tackling
the problem of prisoners who become addicts while in prison and the incidence
of death through overdose by prisoners immediately on release. Drug
rehabilitation in prisons being developed as part of the general rehabilitation
of prisoners to help re-offending, thus reducing crime and saving money in the
criminal justice system budget. The
Legal Aspect The
SNP supports the reclassification of drugs to provide a hierarchy of drugs, which
is credible to the audience whom drug campaigns must engage in dialogue if behaviour
is to be changed. The
SNP call for a review to redefine use and reclassify drugs under the Misuse of
Drugs Act 1971. Any redefinition should consider the use of cannabis for medical
purposes and cultivation for own use. Reclassification should consider broadening
the bands and possible classification in terms of chemical content or harm can
be caused. Policing Customs
jobs and services should be protected and coastline provision should be expanded
to prevent drugs entering the country. The
SNP supports the current increased use of fiscal fines rather than custodial sentences
for cannabis possession. International
Drugs Trade A
policy of international co-operation should be pursued to enable Scotland to play
its part in reducing world demand for drugs with consequent effect on international
crime and the provision of alternative means for nations to develop stable economic
and political systems other than drug based societies.
The
Legalise Cannabis AllianceFormed
to fight the 2001 general election the LCA campaigns for the legalisation and
full utilisation of Cannabis Visit
the LCA website
Liberals
Liberals believe
that the increase in drug related crime has at least in part been caused by the
prohibitive attitude resulting from the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act. Accordingly,
the Liberal Party proposes: a)
the global repeal of legislation regarding the prohibition of drugs and its replacement
with an effective strategy of legalisation, regulation and control, b)
the establishment of an independent multi-agency co-ordinating body to oversee
policy development and implementation in relation to the supply and control of
drugs; c)
taxation of drugs and redirection of criminal justice expenditure to education
and treatment services; d)
the dissemination of accurate and truthful information to minimise substance-related
harm to individuals and communities. We
believe that these measures will eliminate the criminal market place and cause
a reduction in related crime and violence. visit
their website
Socialist
AllianceAs
they make clear in our manifesto, the Socialist Alliance calls for the legalisation
of cannabis - with no ifs, ands, or buts - now. They
see the refusal of the major parties to engage in an honest discussion on this
issue is yet another example of the failure of our big business dominated political
system. For
more information visit their website
Scottish Socialist PartyThe
SSP’s Position On Drugs The
SSP believes that drug prohibition and the criminalisation of drug users has failed
to make any serious impact upon illicit drug use. The 'war against drugs' rhetoric
is counter-productive. The
real war that has to be waged is a war against poverty and hypocrisy. Problem
drug use is primarily a social and medical problem, rather than a criminal problem.
Since
the 1970s, the number of drug convictions and the number of drug seizures have
multiplied ten times over. Tens of thousands of young people have been harassed
and criminalised for the use of relatively harmless drugs such as cannabis, while
the grim toll of heroin deaths continues to grow ever longer. Meanwhile,
criminal drugs grow richer, more powerful and more violent creating an atmosphere
of terror and mayhem in many working class communities. We
will campaign to: License
the sale and production of cannabis for medical and personal use to break the
link between soft drugs and potentially lethal drugs such as heroin. Earmark
major resources to help addicts break their heroin addiction, including an expansion
of detox, rehabilitation and counselling services staffed by trained drugs workers.
Break
the stranglehold of the criminal drugs gangs by providing clean pharmaceutical
heroin on prescription in a clinical environment to those addicts who are not
yet ready to come off the drug. Introduce
a radical social programme to tackle the roots of hard drug abuse including a
huge expansion of cultural and sporting facilities at community level. Shift
responsibility for drugs policy from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament. At
the last conference, the following was added tot he SSP policy: "
The government's re-classification of cannabis is a recognition that the states
position on cannabis has been wrong since its outset. Therefore this conference
resolves to: 1)
include a call for a general amnesty for all those convicted of cannabis offences
in our campaign for the legalisation of cannabis. 2)
expunge their convictions and to remove the stigma and blight of a
criminal
record from their lives and job prospects." | 
