The UK: looking for a science-based approach to drug policy
From the Sleepless Stoner under Drug Policy, Medical Marijuana, Weird Science
Great Op-Ed in the Guardian about drug policy in the UK and how it appears to be shifting to a more science-oriented policy, as opposed to being locked into rumor mongering and fear tactics.
The article is located here
An especially poignant quote from the piece:
Science cannot determine alone what the framework for drugs regulation should be. But if policy is not grounded in the science it can easily collapse into prejudice, moralism and authoritarianism. The chaos earlier this year over the "legal high" mephedrone raised very significant issues of evidence in relation to new drugs of unknown harm. Alcohol is legal yet is producing growing levels of damage which are well detailed in government reports but recommendations for harm reduction are not acted upon. A recent scientific review of drug harms, originally published in The Lancet, found that many class A drugs are in fact less harmful than alcohol. This raises further questions over the coherence of current drugs laws.

