Date Published: 20/08/2010 12:32:12
In the same week Phil Mitchell went from meat-head to crack-head in Eastenders, British Medical Journal (BMJ) writer Stephen Rolles - along with the backing of distinguished outing physician, Professor Sir Ian Gilmore - has suggested we’re fighting a losing battle against the war on drugs in the UK.
Rolles clams we need to end the criminalisation of drugs and instead set up regulatory models that will control drug markets and reduce the health and social harms caused by current policy.
He said: ‘Evidence is mounting that this policy has not only exacerbated many public health problems, such as adulterated drugs and the spread of HIV and hepatitis B and C infection among injecting drug users, but has created a much larger set of secondary harms associated with the criminal market.’
Professor Gilmore is the president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). He seconded Rolles’ article by sending a scathing email to the RCP’s 25,000 members. Deemed as controversial to some, the email not only detailed the war on drugs from a health perspective, but also outlined how changes to drug laws could reduce crime. Speaking to the BBC, Gilmore said the present policy of prohibition ‘is not a success', citing his experience working as a liver specialist as a major cause for concern.
"Every day in our hospital wards we see drug addicts with infections from dirty needles; we see heroin addicts with complications from contaminated drugs," he said. He argued that many of the problems health staff encountered were the consequences of prohibition, not drugs, endorsing a BMJ article titled An alternative to the war on drugs.
Phil Mitchell's story is part of a bigger picture
The Home Office has restated its position on drugs, following the BMJ report and Gilmore’s call for a review of the law. A spokesperson said: “Drugs such as heroin, cocaine and cannabis are extremely harmful and can cause misery to communities across the country.
“The government does not believe that decriminalisation is the right approach. Our priorities are clear; we want to reduce drug use, crack down on drug-related crime and disorder and help addicts come off drugs for good.”
Opinion is clearly mixed on the issue. Those against decriminalisation believe legalising drugs would simply result in a lot more people taking them, whilst those in favour often refer to the success of decriminalisation in other European countries. In Portugal, changes to the law in 2001 led to a cut in overdoses and a fall in the number of young users.
It’s certainly provided a talking point over what appear to be a growing problem in the UK. Police revealed this week that more than 6,800 cannabis farms and factories were discovered in the UK last year alone. They also reported that cannabis growers are often involved in other crimes, ranging from counterfeiting currency and money laundering to firearms, prostitution, and people trafficking.
Whilst it may be unpleasant to think of drug users and the associated health and crime implications, the problem isn’t going away.
As Eastenders actress Tanya Franks said, in response to viewer complaints about the Phil Mitchell storyline: "I wasn't surprised that people complained because it's pushed a boundary. But in my opinion, the good that comes from storylines like this far outweighs whatever concerns people might have. We shouldn't shy away from it."
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