Top cop advocates debate on drug law

Deputy Commissioner Ken Jones
(pic: Herald-Sun)

Another senior police officer has 'broken ranks' with the normal police support of the War on Drugs with a call to educate the public about the on-costs and ineffectiveness of prohibition, and to have an informed debate.

Victoria's Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones is one of the few to name the costs we bear in less obvious areas because of prohibition:

He said the public should be educated about the flow-on costs, from higher insurance premiums to delays in elective surgery as hospitals treated the fallout from drugs and crime...

It's refreshing to see such a thoughtful approach relieving the usual War on Drugs rhetoric.

His statement comes as NSW is shaping up to a probable Coalition government in March.

Leader Barry O'Farrell has today voted against the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre, although he allowed a conscience vote and the Centre was endorsed by the Lower House.

But, interviewed about his party's pro-gambling deal with clubs on ABC 702 radio this week, he told Adam Spencer that "prohibition doesn't work".

I took heart from this, thinking "that will come back to bite you about drug prohibition".

But Mr Spencer then asked him the very question -- if prohibition doesn't work for gambling, what about legalising cannabis?

But Barry wasn't about to be caught out so easily and was ready with a stock answer -- that cannabis wasn't the same drug mums and dads might have known in the 1970s, and today's cannabis was far stronger and more dangerous.

Dedicated followers of this blog will know why this is a nonsense so I won't reiterate the argument. Suffice it to say that today's cannabis is still far safer than alcohol by any objective measure, so Barry should therefore prohibit alcohol... hang on, his policies are the opposite of that! I'm confused, but not as confused as Barry.