Media/News > Latest News on the Drugs Bill > Police Review articles

Two news items in the March 4th issue of Police Review

Charity says drugs policy undermines officer morale

by Eve Pertile

THE UK's drugs policy is subject to a 'systematic failure which serves to undermine police morale and confidence in the criminal justice system', according to a drugs policy charity. In its response to the Government's Drugs Bill, Transform Drug Policy Foundation said that the service's focus on arresting alleged drug dealers merely creates 'a queue of willing replacements'.
This, it said, contributes to 'systematic failure' which undermines police morale.

A spokesman for the charity said: 'We have serious concerns about the Bill, which we view as ill-thought, election-time populism.
'It has serious implications for policing practice which have clearly not been thought through.' One clause of the new Bill of which the charity is critical amends the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to create a presumption of intent to supply when someone is arrested. This would reverse the burden of proof so that the onus is on defendants to prove that they are not drug dealers.

The charity's written response to the Bill, which has just had its third reading in the House of Commons, said: 'The reality is that, for every dealer arrested, there is a queue of willing replacements. The true picture is one of systematic failure that, in contrast to Home Office claims, serves to undermine confidence in the criminal justice system and undermine police morale.'

A Transform spokesman said: 'The Bill ignores the fact that prohibition lies at the root of all the problems of the illegal drugs market. We would like to see moves away from the tough-talking populist 'war on drugs' mindset that has shaped this Bill. The criminal justice focus of this Bill flies in the face of almost all recent academic analysis and debate.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'The aim of this provision is to put dealers on the back foot and out of business. 'We believe this measure will help achieve this aim.'

Group slams 'magic mushroom' ban

GOVERNMENT plans to effectively make 'magic mushrooms' a Class A drug will 'create criminals and criminal activity where none currently exists', according to a drug charity. The Drugs Bill, which has just had its third reading in the House of Commons, includes a section to alter the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 with regard to hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Transform Drug Policy Foundation said the move would be 'the worst possible choice' and a policy which will be difficult to enforce. Magic mushrooms are currently unclassified and therefore legal to sell, possess and consume. In a written response to the Bill, Transform said: 'This clause will theoretically make fresh psilocybe mushrooms [magic mushrooms] a Class A drug, allowing police to arrest and prosecute vendors and/or close down shops and stalls openly selling them.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'The police agree with the Government strategy that the highest priority is controlling drugs such as heroin, crack and cocaine, since they cause the most harm. 'That does not mean that there should not be enforcement against other
drugs.'