Thread by @JolyonMaugham

"The evidence is that countries which have legalised drugs have seen numbers of drug deaths fall and have taken billions out of the criminal economy. The UK, meanwhile, has enriched violent crooks and established itself as a leader in drug-related deaths."
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

If politicians actually wanted to reduce the tide of stabbings and rapes they could do so in an instant. But not by (often hypocritical) caterwauling about "middle class drugs users". By decriminalising drug use.

If politicians paid the price for that hypocrisy - lives destroyed or cut short - themselves you have to believe they'd actually tackle the problem. But because it's paid by poor, often black, young men and women all we get is pointless grandstanding.

Thanks to @stephenkb for his excellent piece (see the top of this thread - please do read it) and @michaelgove for (albeit inadvertently) starting the debate afresh.