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It's old news that the police in the UK, with the exception of large scale busts that they continue to go after, are losing the will to fight the war on drugs [

It's old news that the police in the UK, with the exception of large scale busts that they continue to go after, are losing the will to fight the war on drugs [1]. Society at large are also coming round to the idea that making criminals of drug users isn't working. Now all we need is for the government to swallow their pride, along with the evidence presented to them, and change the law. As an aside, I always point people at this video about why the continued war on drugs will not work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8yYJ_oV6xk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8yYJ_oV6xk. It's an interview with a retired police captain who is now vice chair of the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Well worth a watch... [1] http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/what-drug-cops-really-think-of-the-drug-trade-war-on-drugs http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/what-drug-cops-really-think-o...

anexprogrammer 10y ago
"Now all we need is for the government to swallow their pride, along with the evidence presented to them, and change the law." Little chance of that happening when politics is pure ideology. They pick the course of action beforehand, for the manifesto, and seek evidence that supports it later. If your evidence supports the counter view expect to be ignored or ridiculed. So perhaps come the next government, depending on who gets elected...
rwmj 10y ago
In some parts of the UK. Where I live the police are concentrating on the evil drug menance. It's going as well as you'd expect: a constant source of headlines for the local papers, no change in usage, harms, crime, outcomes, etc.
- aminorex 10y ago
  Well they do manage to destroy the lives of innocent drug users and their families, children. That's change.
bostik 10y ago
> for the government to swallow their pride, along with the evidence presented to them, and change the law As another poster has already quipped, there's practically zero chance of that happening without overhauling the entire government. It may be hard for us, makers and engineers, to see why anyone would obstinately refuse to accept facts as ever more data flows in, but that's not how real life works. Sadly. Politics and engineering are, in certain aspects, polar opposites. In politics changing one's opinion, even in face of facts, is a mark of incompetence. That's a big factor in why it takes so long to reverse bad decisions. While enough (read: too many) of the representatives who voted 'yay' are still in office, they will keep attacking any attempts to undo whatever they have done or approved. And because the big decision was to make all drugs illegal, there will be constant squeeze to push all other decisions further in that direction. Reversing the earlier error is simply inconceivable. It takes a new generation of elected representatives to revoke old laws.
- toyg 10y ago
  > It takes a new generation of elected representatives to revoke old laws. Well, we are currently getting a big chance in that regard in the UK. All parties, including the one in government, are heavily in flux. Overton windows on all sort of topics are being pushed pretty hard. If you care about changing long-established political "truthisms", now it's the time to do it.
- yomly 10y ago
  As an aside to your great post, the government's stance is also ridiculous when you consider that the former Prime Minister David Cameron almost certainly took drugs given his affiliation with the Piers Gaveston society[0]... [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggate
  - nkrisc 10y ago
    Ah, but you see, when well-bred people take drugs it is merely a diversion. They are of too strong a constitution to succumb to the base desires and temptations of drug use as the people of no birth do.
fullshark 10y ago
Meanwhile in the Philippines... http://time.com/4462352/rodrigo-duterte-drug-war-drugs-philippines-killing/ http://time.com/4462352/rodrigo-duterte-drug-war-drugs-phili...
- Ericson2314 10y ago
  More people need to know about this :(

anexprogrammer 10y ago

"Now all we need is for the government to swallow their pride, along with the evidence presented to them, and change the law." Little chance of that happening when politics is pure ideology. They pick the course of action beforehand, for the manifesto, and seek evidence that supports it later. If your evidence supports the counter view expect to be ignored or ridiculed. So perhaps come the next government, depending on who gets elected...

rwmj 10y ago

In some parts of the UK. Where I live the police are concentrating on the evil drug menance. It's going as well as you'd expect: a constant source of headlines for the local papers, no change in usage, harms, crime, outcomes, etc.

aminorex 10y ago
Well they do manage to destroy the lives of innocent drug users and their families, children. That's change.

bostik 10y ago

> for the government to swallow their pride, along with the evidence presented to them, and change the law As another poster has already quipped, there's practically zero chance of that happening without overhauling the entire government. It may be hard for us, makers and engineers, to see why anyone would obstinately refuse to accept facts as ever more data flows in, but that's not how real life works. Sadly. Politics and engineering are, in certain aspects, polar opposites. In politics changing one's opinion, even in face of facts, is a mark of incompetence. That's a big factor in why it takes so long to reverse bad decisions. While enough (read: too many) of the representatives who voted 'yay' are still in office, they will keep attacking any attempts to undo whatever they have done or approved. And because the big decision was to make all drugs illegal, there will be constant squeeze to push all other decisions further in that direction. Reversing the earlier error is simply inconceivable. It takes a new generation of elected representatives to revoke old laws.

toyg 10y ago
> It takes a new generation of elected representatives to revoke old laws. Well, we are currently getting a big chance in that regard in the UK. All parties, including the one in government, are heavily in flux. Overton windows on all sort of topics are being pushed pretty hard. If you care about changing long-established political "truthisms", now it's the time to do it.
yomly 10y ago
As an aside to your great post, the government's stance is also ridiculous when you consider that the former Prime Minister David Cameron almost certainly took drugs given his affiliation with the Piers Gaveston society[0]... [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggate
- nkrisc 10y ago
  Ah, but you see, when well-bred people take drugs it is merely a diversion. They are of too strong a constitution to succumb to the base desires and temptations of drug use as the people of no birth do.

fullshark 10y ago

Meanwhile in the Philippines... http://time.com/4462352/rodrigo-duterte-drug-war-drugs-philippines-killing/ http://time.com/4462352/rodrigo-duterte-drug-war-drugs-phili...

Ericson2314 10y ago
More people need to know about this :(