Baroness Meacher: Taking drugs is like having a cup of coffee, says peer who wants ecstasy sold in chemists

Crossbencher Baroness Meacher calls for heroin, ecstasy and crack cocaine to be decriminalised She heads cross-party group which says licences could be issued to allow drug dealers to sell so-called 'legal highs' Senior police officer says arresting drug users was often pointless

By James Slack and Jack Doyle

PUBLISHED: 08:44 EST, 14 January 2013 | UPDATED: 19:16 EST, 14 January 2013

Crossbench peer Baroness Meacher said that like illegal drugs, her morning coffee was not safe

Youngsters should be encouraged to switch from drinking alcohol to taking drugs, the head of a powerful parliamentary group said yesterday.

Baroness Meacher also compared taking banned substances to drinking coffee.

The former social worker insisted some drugs are a good deal safer than tobacco and alcohol and said it may be a very good thing if teenagers stopped getting drunk and took some types of legal highs instead.

Her comments came the day after the All Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform, of which she is chairman, called for the possession and use of heroin, ecstasy and crack cocaine to be decriminalised altogether, which would relegate it to the status of a minor driving offence.

The report suggested that giving criminal records to young drug users creates higher levels of unemployment, homelessness and relationship problems.

It also called for licences to be issued to allow chemists to sell so-called legal highs, which have been blamed for causing more than 40 deaths in a single year.

Visit link:
Baroness Meacher: Taking drugs is like having a cup of coffee, says peer who wants ecstasy sold in chemists