Stephanie S.

October 14, 2004 - Bristol, United Kingdom
Source


The production and sale of marijuana and other illicit substances will be legally controlled and regulated by the year 2020, concludes a study released Wednesday by the British think tank Transform.


"Drug prohibition [will be replaced] with a system of regulated and controlled markets," states the report, which is backed by several Members of Parliament as well as representatives from law enforcement. "Users will no longer 'score' from unregulated dealers. They will buy their drugs from specialist pharmacies or licensed retailers. Or, for those with a clinical need, via a prescription. At its simplest, this is what legalization, control and regulation will mean: shopping and visiting the doctor. It is simply a question of transferring the policy paradigm of management and regulation to currently illegal drugs."

While authors of the report acknowledge that such a system will not be a " panacea" for the "drug problem," they argue: "The overreaching aim of drug policy should be to minimize harm and maximize well-being. ... Only the repeal of drug prohibition and subsequent regulation of drug production, supply and use will eliminate the problems of illegal markets and create an environment in which drug use and misuse can be effectively managed and the harm caused to individuals and communities minimized."

Authors conclude, "As the negative impacts of prohibition and benefits of regulation are better understood by policy makers and the wider public, pragmatism will triumph over drug war populism, and the lingering resistance to reform will rapidly crumble away."

For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of the NORML Foundation at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the report, entitled "After the War on Drugs: Options for Control," is available online at: http://www.tdpf.org.uk

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"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." —George W. Bush, Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005 (Listen to audio)