Mixed messages pose threat to real solutions

I recently input a post regarding the insouciance of our local Parks Police who dismissed the real and present threat of drug dealing and in our local parks. The problem is widespread throughout the Borough, however the Met Police are taking the role very seriously and have highlighted drug trafficking as a priority. The existing government holds a similar stance to our parks police and seem unprepared for a real tussle with the perpetrators of drug crime. Their constant prevarication over the classification of drugs has been a real indication of their incompetence. Since Labour has been in power we have seen Cannabis degraded from a Class B drug to a Class C drug and now return to a Class B Drug. Only Recently we have seen Ecstasy reduced from a Class A Drug to Class B. The constant lowering of the classification for drugs emits a message of confusion and lackadaisical approach to the crime of drug use and trafficking.

These mixed messages will impact on the manner in which the crime is tackled and will create room for error and misguided approaches to crime reduction. Furthermore, the concept that such crime is not ever able to be eradicated and so we should legalise some drugs so that the harder drugs can be targeted is defeatist and sends out the wrong message. Melanie Phillips from the mail quite sensibly argues:

"...Imagine a report which said that crime could never be eradicated and so to minimise damage Police should henceforth deal only with the most serious murders, assaults or burglaries....Such a report would be laughed out of court as a recipe for anarchy."

There are believe it or not people that honestly believe that the legalisation of cannabis would stop the black market trading with its impurities and that it would stop the relationship with the existing drug dealers, who try and push harder drugs, on users to initiate a long term habit with longer term commercial benefit for the dealer.

However, in Amsterdam even now their are Cafes, Clubs and novelty shops that sell mushrooms, harder and variant forms of Cannabis in different forms, i.e powder, crystals, buds and stalks, leaves etc. The different types of mushroom and cannabis offer varying sensations and make the transition into more "hard" drugs a more appealing and inevitable danger. Besides, the level of serious drug users and offenses is comparable to those in UK. Quite evidently the legalisation of drugs in this city had no positive effect.