Peter Hoskin

Ainsworth has a point

Much ado about Bob Ainsworth this morning, and his views on drug policy. The former defence secretary, and a junior Home Office minister under Tony Blair, has become the most high profile political figure to call for the legalisation of drugs. Or, as he put it:

“It is time to replace our failed war on drugs with a strict system of legal regulation, to make the world a safer, healthier place, especially for our children. We must take the trade away from organised criminals and hand it to the control of doctors and pharmacists.”

To my mind, this is a welcome intervention. It’s not that the case for legalising drugs is completely watertight – it isn’t. But the policy of prohibition supported by all three main parties is deeply flawed, and could do to be questioned more vigorously.

Take, for instance, the street prices of illegal drugs.

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