Tag Archives: drugs policy

Jeremy Browne sets off on global drugs policy research tour

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 12:21 pm

Liberal Democrat Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne is in Portugal this week. As reported in the Guardian, he has embarked on a tour that will take him to Denmark, Sweden and the US to investigate different drugs policies before reporting his conclusions at the end of the year.

He is quoted as saying:

I’m proud of the UK’s drug policy and there are strong signs our approach is working. Illegal drug use is at its lowest level since records began and far more people are leaving treatment free from dependency than ever before.

But I’m not complacent. The UK cannot deal with

…

Posted in News | Also tagged guardian and jeremy browne | 3 Comments

Opinion: we must force the Tories to follow the evidence on khat

By Duncan Stott | Fri 25th January 2013 - 9:52 am

I feel sorry for the Academic Council on the Misuse of Drugs. It’s this panel of drug experts’ task to try and inject some sense into our country’s failing drug policy. Sadly, in the latter years of New Labour’s reign, it became the default option to ignore their advice on drug classification. On magic mushrooms, then on cannabis and then again on ecstasy, Labour couldn’t resist ignoring the ACMD, opting instead for populist posturing in an attempt to appear ‘tough’.

The Labour government’s unscientific urges on drug classification were deeply frustrating to Liberal Democrats, and this led us to a 2010 …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged khat | 28 Comments

Nick Clegg: Time to rethink drugs policy

By Mark Pack | Fri 14th December 2012 - 2:01 pm

The Sun running a story about the attitude of politicians to drugs reform is fairly commonplace. A Liberal Democrat politician calling for the drugs laws to be reviewed is fairly commonplace. What is however rather less common – and so all the more significant – is for the former to feature the latter in a positive light as LDV mentioned earlier today:

Posted in News | Also tagged featured, nick clegg and the sun | 1 Comment

LibLink: Nick Clegg declares the ‘war on drugs’ lost

By The Voice | Fri 14th December 2012 - 12:51 pm

It’s unlikely that many of our readers also take The Sun, but it’s probably equally unlikely that a Liberal Democrat would ever give an interview to it in which they spoke so freely about drug policy.

So, today’s headline in the Sun, “Nick Clegg: time to re-think drugs” will be an unexpected one, made more so by the rather supportive polling carried out by YouGov for it and the general tenor of the piece.

Here’s a snippet from the article;

If you

…

Posted in LibLink and News | Also tagged nick clegg | 8 Comments

Julian Huppert MP writes… Drugs: We will be judged by what we achieve

By Julian Huppert MP | Mon 10th December 2012 - 1:53 pm

Last year, the Lib Dems passed a near-unanimous Conference motion calling for a complete review of the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act. It included a call to “consider reform of the law, based on the Portuguese model”.

Today, the cross-Party Home Affairs Select Committee, of which I am a Member, has endorsed that position, and told the Government that they must focus on reducing the damage caused by drugs, rather than hard-line posturing.

Posted in Op-eds | 6 Comments

Opinion: It’s time for Nick Clegg to make the liberal case on drugs policy

By Mark Thompson | Mon 10th December 2012 - 8:00 am

The Mail on Sunday yesterday reported that the Home Affairs Select Committee report into drugs policy, reporting this morning, is going to recommend that the option of legalisation should be seriously considered and a Royal Commission should be set up to report on the issue prior to the 2015 general election.

As readers of my blog will know, I am a long standing supporter of liberalisation of our drug laws. So this report is a breath of fresh air as far as I am concerned. – A sensible pragmatic look at the problems with

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged featured | 32 Comments

Opinion: Don’t mistake the bodyguard state for a nanny

By Ewan Hoyle | Sat 22nd September 2012 - 4:50 pm

Richard Reeves has had a go at trying to describe a path for the Liberal Democrats to follow in order to escape from our current political mire.

It’s an interesting read, but peppered with many more sentences that made me groan than nod along. I take particular issue with his characterisation of minimum alcohol pricing and cigarette sales restrictions as indicative of the “nanny state” at work. The nanny state slaps your wrist as you reach for the cookie jar and says “no”. The nanny state stands between homosexuals who love each other and want to get married. The nanny …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged richard reeves | 23 Comments

YouGov poll shows huge support for Lib Dem drug policy

By Ewan Hoyle | Tue 10th July 2012 - 9:06 am

Last year’s drug policy debate at conference ended with near-unanimous endorsement of the policy motion “protecting individuals and communities from drug harms“, but since then Liberal Democrats seem to have been passing up every opportunity to publicise our new policy.

When Theresa May dismissed the advice of the chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Lib Dems were silent. When Ken Clarke said the War on Drugs was failing but that decriminalisation wasn’t the answer… Lib Dems were silent. When an audience member of question time last week asked if it was time to control, regulate and …

Posted in News | Also tagged yougov and YouTube | 9 Comments

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Tag Archives: drugs policy

Jeremy Browne sets off on global drugs policy research tour

Opinion: we must force the Tories to follow the evidence on khat

Nick Clegg: Time to rethink drugs policy

LibLink: Nick Clegg declares the ‘war on drugs’ lost

Julian Huppert MP writes… Drugs: We will be judged by what we achieve

Opinion: It’s time for Nick Clegg to make the liberal case on drugs policy

Opinion: Don’t mistake the bodyguard state for a nanny

YouGov poll shows huge support for Lib Dem drug policy

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"Mad, swivel-eyed loons": a top Tory on the Tories

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Same Sex Marriage Bill: Lib Dem MPs to be given free vote

Tag Archives: drugs policy

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