A Law Enforcement Officer Speaks

The Chief Constable of the North Wales Police, Richard Brunstrom, has issued a courageous report that calls for the legalization of drugs with its author saying the current strategy is ”unworkable and immoral.” The document, titled Drug Policy – a radical look ahead, also recommends that his organization work with the Tranform Drug Policy Foundation, a leading British drug policy reform group, to achieve a change in policy.

The statement is remarkably well documented with 128 footnotes and has a thorough discussion of the historical factors, including the role of the United States government, that have created the present situation. The author also makes it clear that he is in no way the only one who has reached similar conclusions. Chief Constable Brunstrom argues that, ”If policy on drugs is in the future to be pragmatic and not moralistic, driven by ethics not dogma, then the current prohibitionist stance will have to be swept away as both unworkable and immoral, to be replaced with an evidence based unified system (specifically including tobacco and alcohol) aimed at minimisation of harms to society. Such a strategy leads inevitably to the legalisation and regulation of all drugs.”

Cross posted on The Trebach Report