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| (Pic : Daily Post) |
Gwynedd county councillor, Cllr. Sion Jones (Lab, Bethel), has called for the resignation of PCC Arfon Jones (Plaid, North Wales Police) - who recently called for drugs to be "legalised", and offered his support to the idea of clean "fix rooms" for drug addicts who use injectable drugs after a man was filmed injecting in a Caernarfon Bus Station toilet.
Similar calls have been made in Cardiff after a spate of drug-related incidents in the Butetown area.
In my Wales on Drugs series in March 2014 (I suggest you read that if you want more detailed back info) I also called for drug legalisation. I'm delighted someone in a high profile position has finally had the guts to come out and say it too.
Ten years ago, if someone in Arfon's position said the same thing, they would've had to resign – no question. Nowadays, the medical, economic and scientific evidence is stacking up and it's clearly saying the War on Drugs is failing.
Drugs kill people, ruin lives and are a public health menace. So are other drugs like alcohol and tobacco. So's driving a car.
It's always an impressive sight seeing police storm suspected drug dens and put large bricks of heroin, cocaine or cannabis on the table alongside wads of £50 notes. Then they'll do it again a few weeks later. Then a few weeks after that. People will rightly go to prison, but there'll be others along to take their place and the root cause of the problem isn't addressed. I'd shudder to think how much goes towards this in terms of police resources.
Drug legalisation doesn't mean making them available from supermarkets and giving people ready access to everything from cannabis at the bottom, right through to heroin at the top.
Softer drugs – which are scientifically proven to be "of less harm" than tobacco and alcohol – could be purchased from licenced pharmacies. Their ingredients can be properly regulated; their supply and sale can be properly regulated; their dosage and strength can be properly regulated. They won't be cut with rat poison and dry wall. You can put warnings on the packaging. The market would be taken out of the hands of criminals and they can be properly taxed.
Harder and more addictive drugs like heroin might only be available by prescription and under close medical supervision. Once again their ingredients can be properly regulated; their supply can be properly regulated and controlled; their dosage and strength can be properly regulated. The market again would be taken out of the hands of criminals and those who would otherwise commit petty crimes to fund their habits will have a legitimate place to get their fix and (hopefully) seek proper treatment.
The police and courts waste tens, if not hundreds, of millions of pounds every year dealing with drugs when one possible way to ease, but not completely eliminate, the burden is staring them right in the face.
The powers over drugs, policing etc. aren't devolved and in the case of drugs are unlikely to be the responsibility of Welsh politicians unless Wales became independent. So in policy terms this will have to be led at Westminster for the time being, and there have been previous calls for a Royal Commission to investigate current drugs laws.
Arfon Jones shouldn't resign. If anything he's ahead of the curve.
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