UK "Justice"
Minister Straw’s Rejection of Fact Finding Cannabis Commission
Based On Errors of Fact
March 16, 1998
Daily Telegraph
Jon Hibbs, Political Correspondentet.letters@telegraph.co.uk
LABOUR RESISTS CALL FOR REVIEW OF DRUGS LAWS
THE Government ruled out any moves towards decriminalising cannabis yesterday despite
pressure from new MPs for an official review of the anti-drugs laws.
Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, turned down cross-party calls for
a Royal Commission and warned that slackening the existing legislation on soft drugs would
lead to a huge increase in consumption. His comments came after a survey of the 1997
intake at Westminster disclosed that one in five respondents had sampled illegal drugs and
a majority thought that the present legal restrictions on their use were too harsh.
However, only one of the MPs in the younger parliamentary generation broke ranks to
waive his anonymity and admit smoking cannabis in the past, and he is a Conservative.
David Prior, son of the former Cabinet minister Lord Prior and MP for Norfolk North, said:
"I honestly could not live with myself and talk about drugs if I did not admit to
people I have taken them."
The survey conducted anonymously for LWT’s Dimbleby programme found that
two-thirds of those questioned believed that the issue should be investigated by a Royal
Commission.
But Mr Straw said evidence from countries that had decriminalised
cannabis, such as the Netherlands and Alaska, showed drug consumption increased while
crime worsened.
(Ed. note: The Kingdom of Alaska really does
not have a lot in common with the United Kingdom. And marijuana was never legalized there.
But other than that... ) He told Radio 4’s World This
Weekend: "Governments set up Royal Commissions when they are uncertain what to do
about something. We are not uncertain about this."
Ed. note: To err is human, but to base a decision to reject a fact finding commission
on easily refuted errors of fact is a fascinating intellectual process. However, it is one
that cannot be long sustained. This demonstrates a fear of reality. See
Comparison of drug addiction
levels in various European countries. )
In recent years the Liberal Democrats have called for a Royal Commission into drug use
to take the issue out of the political arena. An all-party committee of the House of Lords
has just started a scientific investigation into the case for decriminalising cannabis and
another independent inquiry is being conducted by the Police Foundation.
Mr Prior, 43, who backs the idea of a Royal Commission, said he had an open mind on the
decriminalisation of cannabis and would like to know more about the medical effects of
using soft drugs. He accused fellow politicians of adopting a hypocritical attitude
towards drugs when huge numbers of "completely conventional" people like himself
were routinely exposed to them.
See Conservative
MP Has Enjoyed A Joint Or Two In His Time - Wonders Why It Is Still Illegal. Cannabis
Campaign
He wrote in the Independent on Sunday: "I associate my experience with drugs (soft
ones) not with Mick Jagger or Aldous Huxley but with passing my law degree and working in
a bank. You can wear a pinstripe suit and be utterly conventional and still roll a joint.
And yes, I did inhale. But that was a long time ago. I stopped some time in my late 20s
and took up alcohol instead."
A questionnaire was sent to the 243 new MPs who entered Parliament at the general
election last May. Of the 81 who responded, 51 per cent said they believed the current
laws on cannabis were "too harsh", while 65 per cent backed a Royal Commission.
Some MPs highlighted the way the current law was unevenly applied, and others called for
the legalisation of soft drugs for medicinal purposes.
See Two Out Of
Three New Members of Parliament Favor Drugs Law Review -- IoS Cannabis Campaign
Supported