Press Release
from Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform
July 9, 2010
Three other drugs: Magic Mushrooms, Amphetamines, and Mephedrone show a majority in favour of legalisation and regulation, whilst 3 in 10 people would prefer the state regulate rather than prohibit heroin supply. These poll results demonstrate that the public is ready for a mature, open discussion of alternative approaches to drug policy and that there is no need for politicians to fear a backlash should they express doubts about the wisdom of our current approach.
Rather than just ask whether each drug should be “legalised”, the poll gave brief descriptions of three regulatory options and asked the public to pick which they thought most tolerable for each of a series of drugs.
The options were:
* Light regulation (drugs sold like tobacco and alcohol are now)
* Strict government control and regulation (an example of how government could heavily regulate a legal market in an attempt to minimise harm)
* and Prohibition (the current status of illegal drugs).
Headline results include:
* 70% support for cannabis legalisation/regulation, with 1 in 3 of those polled feeling that it should be sold in a similar way to alcohol and tobacco.
* More people supporting legalisation/regulation than prohibition for 3 other drugs: Magic Mushrooms (52% to 34%), Amphetamines (49% to 40%), and the recently banned “legal high” Mephedrone (41% to 39%).
* 39% support for the legal regulation of ecstasy sales, 36% support for regulation of cocaine, and 30% of respondents supported the legal regulation of heroin.
* For alcohol and tobacco over 1 in 4 respondents supported strict government control and regulation and 8% expressed a desire for tobacco to be prohibited.
Ewan Hoyle, founder of campaigning group Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform says:
“The “Do you think x drug should be legalised?” question asked in polls up until now has failed to elicit any useful information. It may be interpreted by many poll participants as a question on their moral tolerance of drug use, or may conjure up thoughts of an unregulated free-market that they rightly judge to be dangerous. This poll shows that, when asked to choose between some of the actual regulatory options available, the public regards the strict controls and regulations that are being proposed by the reform movement as a sensible solution to our drugs problem.”
“The percentage favouring the legal regulation of Class A drugs is far higher than in previous polls and I would expect this percentage to rise still further as the debate progresses and the causes of the astronomical social and financial costs of problem drug use under the current system are explained. Prohibition of cocaine and heroin is causing, not preventing, massive harms to communities in the UK, and to all the countries in the world that this illegal trade touches.”
Steve Rolles of the Transform Drug Policy Foundation said:
“It is important that people understand that ‘legalisation’ is a process not a policy endpoint – and is one that can lead to strict government regulation of markets. It does not imply an unregulated commercial free for all that many may imagine if no other options are outlined. If anything an unregulated free for all is what we have under prohibition.
The important lesson for politicians is that they don’t need to be afraid of public opinion on this issue if it is presented in the more practical terms of market regulation”
From July 7 to July 9, 2010, Vision Critical conducted an online survey among 2,000 randomly selected British adults who are Springboard UK panelists. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current age, gender, social class, region and newspaper readership data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain.
Contacts for comment:
Ewan Hoyle – Founder of Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform –
07817536149 or 01416493809
Mark Thompson –
Prominent Lib Dem blogger and leading member of LDDPR –
07734730249
Steve Rolles –
Transform Drug Policy Foundation – 01179415810
UK: POLL SHOWS 70% FOR CANNABIS REGULATION
I still find it absurd that only 1 in 3 support supplying heroin to addicts under controlled conditions. The issue really should be considered as :-
Which do you prefer?
a) Heroin addicts stealing to fund their habit
or
b) Supplying the unfortunate individuals with heroin at a fraction of the price and cost to society*
*Please bear in mind that supplying heroin to addicts under controlled circumstances would reduce the numbers of new users to practically zero and eliminate the black market supply of heroin in this country.
I also find it saddening that people with decent lives can be jealous of people living on the breadline with nothing more than their next fix to look forward to. Many addicts have had traumatic pasts that any sane person would not wish upon anybody.
It’s time to stop the hate and jealousy, and take the pragmatic approach where society as a whole takes responsibility for the situation, rather than individuals within the society bearing the brunt of the cost of prohibition.
UK: POLL SHOWS 70% FOR CANNABIS REGULATION
This poll is comforting in the respect that as our country progresses more into a modern age, people are begining to understand that prohibition is not working.
When the guys in power insist that cannabis should be illegal in the face of public demand and the advice of expert scientists (like David Nutt) they are doing nothing but apeasing the ignorant voter and creating disrespect for the law. Who can blame a person for not respecting the law when it is based on the whim of a new PM wanting to look tough on crime and not the wishes of the public and scientific analysis.
UK: POLL SHOWS 70% FOR CANNABIS REGULATION
I really believe that people are ready to support legalization, but we could learn something with this poll, that is the way we present the message, it is very, very important. If people are not supporting ” drugs anti prohibition”, maybe they understand: do you support this drug criminal system or prefer a state legal control? How to present the message it is incredibly important!
Jorge