Yesterday we learnt that the Home Secretary has decided to ban the drug ‘khat’, against the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The Lib Dems were reportedly against this move, and the decision lay with Theresa May. This and other decisions suggest that drugs minister Jeremy Browne has been given a script but no power.
The disappointing decision to make khat a Class C drug follows the view of the ACMD in January that it should remain legal (having said the same thing 7 years earlier):
The ACMD considers that the evidence of harms associated with the use of khat is insufficient to justify control and it would be inappropriate and disproportionate to classify khat under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In summary the ACMD considers that the harms of khat does not reach the level required for classification. Therefore, the ACMD recommend that the status of khat is not changed.
The advisory council is not prone to prioritising the freedom of consenting adults over health risks, so if even they think classification is “inappropriate and disproportionate” then we really should be worried. In fact, rather than the usual reference point of alcohol, the most frequent comparison for khat – not to be confused with cats – is coffee, the world’s most popular drug (which has itself seen many prohibitions over recent centuries). Used functionally in East Africa by “farmers, night watchmen, labourers, lorry drivers and students”, its use in the UK might be considered more recreational – as a communal activity in cafés or while watching the football. While khat is not entirely harmless or blameless, the Home Office’s case is poor, and this move is, as Stephen Williams says, a “waste of time and money for the government and our police.”
Theresa May’s decision can be put down to three factors, alongside the Home Office’s prohibition predilection: 1) her own leadership ambitions; 2) the Tory party’s pre-determination before the election – primarily by Sayeeda Warsi – that khat should be banned; and 3) international pressure from the US and others. May has even attempted to suggest it is directly linked to terrorism, but legal regulation is (as with cocaine and heroin) by far the best way to prevent links to terrorism, violence and corruption.
In contrast to the Home Secretary’s view, the 2010 Lib Dem manifesto stated clearly that we would, “Always base drugs policy on independent scientific advice, including making the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs completely independent of government.” Given that the drugs minister is now a Lib Dem, voters might legitimately question our record on this in government. (Unfortunately, MPs will not get a chance to vote on the change in the Commons.)
This is not an isolated case. In late 2010 the ACMD advised that the provision of foil by harm reduction services to heroin and crack users should be decriminalised. They repeated this view in December 2011 and again in February this year. 32 months after the original report, the government is yet to give its response. It seems Theresa May hopes, cowardly, to avoid ever giving a decision. For his part, Jeremy Browne clearly has no power to follow our 2010 manifesto, or indeed our 2002 policy that specifically covered harm reduction programmes (see update below).
So the question is, what is the point of having a Lib Dem as drugs minister? Was the last reshuffle trade a good deal?
I recall another former drugs minister, Bob Ainsworth, discussing the difficult choice of remaining in the tent and doing what he could while also disagreeing with government drugs policy. But in our case that must be balanced with the harm to our party’s image and backbone of being nominally in charge of going against our own policies. And when we are unable to achieve even tiny reforms (such as on tin foil) or prevent steps that actually go in the wrong direction (khat), I conclude that Jeremy Browne should resign from his drugs policy role in protest.
We have – to be fair – secured a review of drug policies abroad, after the Home Office ignored most of the Home Affairs Select Committee’s recent recommendations. This is welcome, and could potentially have a long-term impact, but I’m doubtful. The Home Office would not even confirm to me that they intend to release this review to the public once completed.
The government will also introduce a new “escalation framework” for punishing khat users, which will be interesting to see (unless you’re on the receiving end), and I would optimistically hope that the impacts of the new prohibition will be scrutinised. But while drug policy reform is heating up in many countries – no thanks to the Foreign Office, where Browne previously played a drugs policy role – it’s hard to see any real progress on the horizon in the UK.
This puts our party in an odd position. Back in December, Nick Clegg put his head above the parapet, saying “I’m anti-drugs – it’s for that reason I’m pro reform”, and Julian Huppert has worked tirelessly and admirably on drugs policy. Without any prospect of support from the Conservatives or Labour, all we can do is go on the offensive, try gradually to shift public opinion and stick up for liberal principles. In contrast to the freedom Clegg and backbenchers have to speak out, it’s hard to see how Jeremy Browne’s role as Home Office “room meat” helps.
* Adam Corlett is an economic analyst and Lib Dem member
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13 Comments
A good point. While I expect there’s little we can do about this in practice, it would be nice to have Jeremy Browne say “I may not support the Government’s position personally, but we have agreed to ban khat” or similar.
Then again, it would be nice to have Jeremy Browne to sound more like a Lib Dem more often – on the rare occasions he does, he’s great, but they’re too few and far between.
What the hell is the government’s obsession with banning things.
Browne is not a liberal either on economic or, as we can see now, social matters. I really don’t know why he is in this party. I wish he would just get on with it and move over to the tories, we all know he wants to.
” I wish he would just get on with it and move over to the tories, we all know he wants to.”
I can think of a few others who would probably be happier there,,,
Jeremy Browne is clearly just pursuing his personal career ambitions. His nonsensical response to the recent Westminster Hall debate on the HASC drugs inquiry was a disgrace.
Furthermore, he has recently refused the requests of several MPs for a round table meeting about medicinal cannabis simply because “the government is not minded to change the law”.
He is, in fact, refusing to listen or consult, even in response to MPs’ requests, and is supporting the corrupt and unlawful monopoly of medicinal cannabis granted to GW Pharmaceuticals.
Will he take responsibility for the pain, suffering and disability that millions of British citizens who need medicinal cannabis are condemned to? All over Europe, the US and Israel, people who need cannabis as medicine have access to it. Browne and his civil servants even override and countermand doctors’ prescriptions in pursuit of their cruel policy.
Why?
This herbal stimulant is in common use among the Somali community in West london. The main objection I have heard to its use, is the stains left on pavements when the chewed keaves are spat out by users. While the practice may be unhygenic, there appears to be little evidence that a substance ban is warranted under current drug laws.
The Chariry DrugScope has responded to the Government decision to ban Khat under the Misuse of Drugs Act
The Home Secretary has today announced that the Government will ban khat – against the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
Responding to the announcement the Chief Executive of DrugScope, Martin Barnes, said:
‘DrugScope is concerned and disappointed that the Government has gone against the advice of the independent ACMD and will make khat use illegal. The ACMD’s report on khat shows that it undertook a rigorous, objective and robust study of all the available evidence of the potential harms of khat to individuals, families and communities. The ACMD concluded that there was insufficient evidence of harms associated with the use of khat to justify control under the Misuse of Drugs Act. There is evidence of a reduction in the importation of khat and its use since the ACMD’s last report in 2005.
Fresh khat leaves have a very short lifespan for effective use – its active ingredient declines quickly after 36– 48 hours from picking. The plant therefore needs to be picked, packaged and transported quickly by plane to be of much use to the end user. Nonetheless, the Home Secretary places great weight on concern that the UK is at risk of becoming a hub for the trafficking of khat to other countries where it is banned. While the ACMD concluded that some khat is likely to be re-exported, it received no evidence of the scale of any such activity. If new evidence has come to light on its re-export, the issue could have been referred back to the ACMD for its consideration.
A more proportionate alternative to banning khat and criminalising its use would have been an import ban or making it a supply offence only as applies, for example, to controlled anabolic steroids. A profitable trade in khat is only possible with bulky imports by airfreight which makes enforcement on supply much less challenging than for other banned substances.
Despite our concern about the banning of khat, we welcome the Home Secretary’s commitment to ensuring a proportionate policing response for personal possession. The potential negative impacts of criminalisation should be minimised.
The Home Secretary states that the decision is not a rejection of the ACMD’s assessment of the evidence. However, the decision will raise again legitimate concerns about the credence given to the ACMD’s recommendations and how drugs policy is informed and decisions made.’
“A good point. While I expect there’s little we can do about this in practice, it would be nice to have Jeremy Browne say “I may not support the Government’s position personally, but we have agreed to ban khat” or similar.”
If it’s not in the coalition agreement, there’s no reason the Lib Dems have to agree to it, is there?
Feeble beyond measure.
The Washington/Westminster maxim “No-one ever got thrown out of office for being tough on drugs” may prove to be a little too rich for todays consumption.When the ACPO annual report starts reading “300 million Khat leaves were seized last year at a cost to the taxpayer of a pound each.??????
What next – a ban on Red Bull?
I like that idea. No more Ed Balls pontificating on how everything the government does is wrong, and he would do just the same, but with slightly different timing.
As a lib dem voter i am very concerned about this policy. It’s a move that would hurt us and make innocent law abiding citizens criminals for harmless drug compared to coffee. It’s an oppressive policy that has little to do with scientific research but politically motivated. We are an Independent country we should base our drug policies from our experts opinion and not jump on the ban bandwagon just because majority of other Western countries have prohibition in place. This is totally preposterous and grossly unfair. Khat is part of our ancestral culture like a pint is to Brits. Now would they ever consider banning Alcohol which has more adverse effects that khat? No because it’s part British culture. Isn’t it safe to conclude that this is racist oppressive and politically motivated drug policy is aimed at criminalizing law abiding citizens? I really hope Lib Dems united with ACMD oppose this move and undo the ban. We are outraged.
Surely some producers and users can provide a donation to the party or buy ‘dinner with Dave’ and get this overturned.
That’s how it works with booze isn’t it?
I would like to encourage the Home Secretary and the Coalition Government not to bow down to any pressure from, what Cyril Connolly (renown reformist) once called The Enemies of Promise. For our community, youths and Somali Professionals, this is issue is fight against outdated cultural ideology, ignorance, poverty of aspirations, a struggle to unlock the potential opportunities of over community so that they can take their rightful position in our economy as citizens.
I make my conclusion from our direct involvement and experience with our communities/youths and we feel the Coalition Government should continue with its plans to ban Khat on the following grounds:
Impact on family life:
It is widely accepted that the issue of Khat has indirectly caused family breakdowns in Somali families and this historical lack of stable home coupled with absence fathers (leadership) means that a young Somali youth growing up in London is becoming ever harder, forcing a majority to turn to khat use as a tool for escapism, inevitability impacting on their life chances to compete and progress in life. As a Forum, we genuinely subscribe to the aims and notion or policies of Every Child Matters. As a result, we would fully support a ban on the use and availability of Khat, which is destroying the life chances of our children, cementing their place in a life of misery and wasted human capital for generations.
Loss Generation:
I would like to take the opportunity to underline the impact Khat use is having on Somali youths in London. It is arguable that the issue was just isolated to older Somali men who regularly chewed the substance. However, that trend has now changed where young Somali now form a growing and alarming number of Khat users, affecting their prospects, health and stability at home. As a youth activist and a strong campaigner for the progress of our youths, I find it astonishing that the issue is now trickling down to our first/second generation Somali youths, some languishing in mental health institutions and others wasted on the wilderness of benefit dependency with no aspiration for progress. As I pass through outside Khat stations in around London, and I speak to young people, I am witnessing the collective deteriation of our youths, which will ultimately result in a lost generation.