Criticism of drugs law gets charitys support

3 Aug 06
Campaigners have welcomed calls from senior MPs for a radical overhaul of drugs legislation.

04 August 2006

Campaigners have welcomed calls from senior MPs for a radical overhaul of drugs legislation.

Martin Barnes, chief executive of the charity DrugScope, said the 30-year-old Misuse of Drugs Act was completely out of step with the current UK drug scene.

'It is important that the Act more accurately matched legal penalties to the overall risk of drugs to society,' Barnes said. 'Such a review was promised by the Home Office in January, but we have heard nothing about it since.'

Barnes was commenting on a report published this week by the Commons' Science and Technology Committee, which criticised the ABC drug classification system as inconsistent and unscientific.

'We have expressed concern at the government's proclivity for using the classification system as a means of “sending out signals” to potential users and society at large,' the MPs said.

'It is at odds with the stated objective of classifying drugs on the basis of harm, and the government has not made any attempt to develop an evidence base on which to draw in determining the “signal” being sent out.'

They suggested that inclusion of alcohol and tobacco in the classification would give a better sense of the harm involved.

The committee was also critical of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, highlighting confusion over its remit. The report called for independent oversight of the council's work.

PFaug2006

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top