MEP praises advisory council on drugs misuse

Date article online: 03/04/2008

The Advisory Council's decision was praised today by Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies, who was himself arrested for possession of cannabis after taking part in a political protest against the law in 2002.

Mr Davies said: "If the reports are correct the doctors and scientists who serve on the Advisory Council are to be praised for resisting political pressure and basing their decision on the objective evidence.

"No drug is 'safe', but it is impossible to argue that cannabis causes more harm overall than tobacco or alcohol.

"In his recent statements Gordon Brown appears to want to return to the bad old days when a hundred thousand young people each year were arrested, fined and all too often imprisoned for cannabis possession.

"It would be ridiculous to place additional strains on the courts and cause so much distress to individuals who have done nothing that could cause harm to anyone other than themselves.

"Britain is supposed to be a free society. The role of government is to ensure that drug users have all the health information available, but they should intervene only when there is a risk of harm to others."