The Home Office has quickly rejected a call from the government’s official drug advisers to decriminalise the personal possession of all illegal drugs, including heroin and cocaine.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) has said it would be better if the tens of thousands of people caught with illicit drugs were sent on drug education and awareness courses rather than punished with fines and other penalties, up to imprisonment.
But the Home Office has rejected the advice, a spokesman saying on Friday: “We have no intention of liberalising our drugs laws. Drugs are illegal because they are harmful – they destroy lives and cause untold misery to families and communities.
“Those caught in the cycle of dependency must be supported to live drug-free lives, but giving people a green light to possess drugs through decriminalisation is clearly not the answer.
“We are taking action through tough enforcement, both inland and abroad, alongside introducing temporary banning powers and robust treatment programmes that lead people into drug-free recovery.”
Police search a man for drugs. The government says: ‘Giving people the green light to possess drugs through decriminalisation is not the answer.’
Categories: UK