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NEW: Michael Gove has said he “deeply regrets” taking cocaine 20 years ago. So what was his take on drug laws then?
He wrote about drug laws in The Times, 20 years ago...
His view? He rejected the “London’s liberal consensus” that drug laws should be liberalised.
THREAD:
He wrote about drug laws in The Times, 20 years ago...
His view? He rejected the “London’s liberal consensus” that drug laws should be liberalised.
THREAD:
In December 1999, he wrote a piece about pressure to loosen drug laws headlined “When it's right to be a hypocrite”.
It said that cocaine should not be glamourised and laws should not be liberalised.
He attacked Channel 4 for glamourising the drug:
It said that cocaine should not be glamourised and laws should not be liberalised.
He attacked Channel 4 for glamourising the drug:
He says drugs are dangerous but laws not enforced:
He has a pop at Europe (obviously):
And here’s the crux of his argument - interesting one. He says the liberal elite want to weaken drug laws to deal with their own guilt for taking drugs - but that’s the wrong approach:
Gove’s team declined to comment on this article. They pointed to his words in the Mail:
“I took drugs on several occasions at social events more than 20 years ago. At the time I was a young journalist. It was a mistake. I look back and I think, I wish I hadn’t done that.”
“I took drugs on several occasions at social events more than 20 years ago. At the time I was a young journalist. It was a mistake. I look back and I think, I wish I hadn’t done that.”
Our @ObserverUK story here: theguardian.com/politics/2019/…
