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Now SEVEN cabinet ministers admit: 'We smoked cannabis'
Last updated at 17:37pm on 19.07.07
The extraordinary cabinet confessional brought fresh pressure on David Cameron and members of his team to come clean about their own history of drug use.
Miss Smith triggered a wave of surprising disclosures by admitting that she had tried the drug as a student at Oxford University, becoming the first serving Home Secretary to do so.
But she insisted: "I'm not proud of it. I did the wrong thing."
The Home Secretary is in charge of new moves to reverse the 2004 declassification of cannabis from a Class B drug to a Class C drug.
It comes amid mounting evidence from mental health charities, police and doctors that cannabis use can cause mental problems - such as schizophrenia.
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Confession: Home Secretary Jacqui Smith playing party games as a student at Oxford 25 years ago. Today she said smoked cannabis at university
Two more junior ministers in the Home Office - Tony McNulty and Vernon Coaker - also confessed to having tried marijuana during their student days in a carefully-orchestrated show of support for Miss Smith.
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I've taken drugs: Vernon Coaker and Tony McNulty
But it was the cabinet revelations that stunned Westminster after Mr Darling - who has a reputation for being one of the least exciting members of the government - admitted he had tried cannabis 'occasionally' at university.
Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, a devout Catholic and member of the hardline religious group Opus Dei, also surprised her colleagues saying 'yes' to trying dope in her youth.
Surprise surpirse: devout Catholic Ruth Kelly has admitted she dabbled as an undergraduate
But her spokesman said: "She realised she was very foolish to do so and stopped."
Business and Enterprise Secretary John Hutton and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Andy Burnham also disclosed they had used the drug briefly. Mr Hutton said he now 'regretted' his behaviour, while Mr Burnham said he had only used it 'once or twice'.
All those who have denied taking the drug are male.
Mr Cameron has repeatedly refused to directly admit whether he has taken drugs. But a well-sourced biography of the Tory leader revealed that he was disciplined for using cannabis while he was at Eton and he has failed to deny the report.
The majority of Gordon Brown's cabinet yesterday chose to own up about their use of drugs when contacted by the Daily Mail. Seven said they had used cannabis in their youth, nine said they hadn't and seven refused to comment.
The Prime Minister's spokesman he had never taken illegal drugs of any description, but insisted it was a matter for individual ministers "to decide how to answer these questions".
In contrast, the shadow cabinet were ordered not to answer the question yesterday.
But many of Mr Cameron's senior colleagues have been quizzed on the issue in the past. Of those, six have said 'yes' to using the drug and seven have said 'no'.
Miss Smith, who has earned a reputation among MPs for being a straight-talker, sparked the cabinet admissions during an interview with GMTV.
She told the programme: "I have. I did when I was at university. I haven't done for at least 25 years."
But she added: "I think it was wrong that I smoked it when I did. I have not done for 25 years. I share other people's concerns about the effect that cannabis has on young people and mental health problems.
"So, actually I think in some ways I have learnt my lesson and I have a responsibility as Home Secretary now to make sure we put in place the laws and the support and information to make sure we carry on bringing cannabis use down, which we are doing."
Asked how she felt about people who thought her admission might make her unfit to be Home Secretary, she said: "On the whole I think people think human beings should do jobs like this. I am not proud about it, I did the wrong thing.
"One of the things about being a politician is that you are often criticised for not knowing what's going on. I hope that my experiences in my life have actually helped me understand that I do want crime tackled..."
Mr McNulty later said: "What people did or didn't do 25 years ago at university, in the late 70s, early 80s, is an entirely personal matter.
"Jacqui is a very straight and honest person and gave a straight answer."
Asked the same question, the minister said he had smoked it once or twice.
He said: "I think what went on 25 years ago when people were 18, 20, was entirely different from where people are today. I think anyone who went to university in the late 70s, early 80s would have encountered and may have consumed cannabis.
"I certainly did, just like Jacqui did, and I think people would be more surprised if you managed to avoid it.
"That does not reflect on what our position is today. You'll know that there are far more powerful levels of cannabis out on our streets today. You'll know that Gordon Brown has announced there's going to be a review of the classification."
Reader views (24)
The number of regular cannabis users in this country out numbers the police force by a factor of 8 to 1 on conservative estimates, therefore prohibition will never be sensibly enforceable.
Decriminalisation is always a bad idea because it gives out a message of 'oh, its not so bad, but you have to associate with criminals to get the stuff'.
The only answer is legalisation, and taxation. Imagine the tax revenue the government could raise if Philip Morris and BAT were selling weed with a tax on it rather than petty criminals, and your Daily Mail readership who will never smoke a joint in their life won't have to pay a penny of it. Maybe that money could go to social work and healthcare, both of which are drastically underfunded at present.
- Dan, London, UK
It's now a case of do as I say, instead of do as I did! This lot are hardly in a position to change the law. The ones that did use cannabis are mostly the ones who relaxed the law in the first place! These days it is much easier to get a hold of and used much more than it was twenty five years ago.
- Ray, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
I remember in 1962 reading in the local press about the first arrest ever in the city of Hull for cannabis and the offender was given six months imprisonment. A couple of days ago I read about a young man who had been cultivating Cannabis at his home in Hull. He was the grandson of the person mentioned before. I am very much afraid Political parties of all persuasion in the UK have left the problem of drug abuse far too late. It is well and truly out of control and attempts at rehabiitation, and social control without Draconian sentencing just will not work.
- Robert, Kirk Ella, East Yorks
Does this mean a reformed burglar can't give advice on how to protect your home from theives?
This is nothing but stupid. Big deal, they smoked pot. Doesn't mean they are proud of it. Critics should be ashamed. We all have done things we are not proud of.
- Peter, Kendal
So what, they are making a hash (pun intended!) of the country sober...
- Sandra Dibble, London
Sue, you've raised an interesting point. I assume you are not including the mass prescribed drugs of alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine and even pharmaceutical anti-depressants in your viewpoint about drug takers being sad and having no life?
Where do you stand on drug use as opposed to drug abuse? Do you accept that not all drug takers very sad so long as they're NOT dependant on the stuff? Or does just looking at a joint make one 'sad'?
As a wine drinker, am I very sad and do I have no life if I routinely have one or two glasses every other night in the evening or am I normal and perfectly sound of mind? If I smoke a joint every so often am I not living in the real world? If I take an ecstasy pill twice a year am I very sad or am I just a bit of a fun loving risk taker?
And who draws the line? The Daily Mail readers of the country? The people who have never touched drugs and know nothing about drugs? Or the parents of the tiny percentage of kids who smoked cannabis (only ever just the once) and then went nuts? What about the families of abusive alcoholics, why don't they get a say in the alcohol laws? Do we criminalise normal people for letting their hair down occasionally in order to try and prevent the majority from becoming drug addicts?
Let's face it, criminalisation hasn't really done much to stop addicts becoming addicts so far and unless Brown is going to build special cannabis abuser prisons then no much is going to change anyway.
- Isabel, Woking, England
God not this old chestnut again. We've all done it. Move on.
- Jay, London, UK
When I was growing up as a teenager I experimented with drink, smoking and some illegal substances. Now at the age of 40 I find that these substances are being tolerated more and more, yet the drugs doing more damage than most are cigarettes and alcohol. As a reformed smoker I'm pleased to see that the government is doing something about smoking in enclosed spaces, now they should do something about the alcohol problem, especially amongst children.
Leave the ban on drugs and lets not worry about whether or not a person is a phsycho because they tried smoking a joint 25 years ago.
Protect our children now before it’s too late.
- Gary Dingwall, Southend on Sea, Essex
I think it is crass and naive for people like 'Sue of Orpington' to suggest that anyone that has taken 'drugs' is a fool. I presume Sue therefore has never had alcohol or smoked a cigarette or had an aspirin - all these things change a chemical balance in your body and have an effect and they are all drugs. The concerns I have are more to do with the fact the government are suggesting it is part of experimenting when you are young (which is fine, and everybody, except maybe Sue with her narrow mind have done things like this when they are growing up) but at the same time saying that it was wrong to do so even though they claim to have taken some benefit from it. Surely ministers can see the danger of giving normal law abiding tax payers a criminal record for what they describe as a bit of experimentation. If only they allowed the police a bit of discretion to deal with such issues rather than requiring them to hit arrest targets and form filling, we might be able to give them the time they need to stop the very few people who are tipped over the edge by taking too many drugs.
- A.Noyd, London
I wonder if their heads melted onto the desk, as in the Robert Crumb cartoon 'Stoned again'?
- John Evans, London, U.K.
Surely it's better that MPs take a stance on cannabis having experienced both sides of the picture? I'm not condoning or condemming cannabis use but there are more importatant things to worry about than whether someone smoked a joint when they were at university. Perspective, people!
- We, Kent
I think a lot of people have tried cannabis at some point in their lives, me included. I don't condone it now that I know how dangerous it can be. I wouldn't want my sons when they are grown up to experiment with it. One of my school friends, who were very bright, started taking it during her A-levels. She ended up working in a shoe factory and becoming a single mum. Having seen what drugs did to her and other people I know who take them, I feel that it encourages people to drop out of mainstream society, robbing them of their ambition, which is obviously a great waste of potential.
- M, Bedford
Surely it is the minority of people that have mental health problems, it is not everyone, same as some people have a different reaction to alcohol... let them have dope!
And I have much respect for the Home Secretary, at least she tells the truth!
- Graeme, London
Politicians smoke it? Proof then it does make you go crazy, makes you dress really bad and makes you hallucinate... like seeing WMA's in Iraq!
- Daveb, London
Why is it thrown into chaos? We all live and learn. Anyway maybe she didn't inhale.
- John, Dundee, UK
There's now plenty of evidence that cannabis can trigger schizophrenia and psychosis in some people, and some of those psychotics have gone on to commit murder. We don't yet know whether everyone can be so affected, or (more probably) just a vulnerable minority. Either way, it's a good enough reason to keep pot illegal and to deal harshly with the pushers supplying it for profit.
This is no reason to stigmatise anyone who experimented with it in their youth, and it's better if they now admit to it in public rather than lying and making themselves vulnerable to blackmail. Show me a person who didn't push any boundaries when he or she was young, and I'll show you a self-righteous prat!
- Nigel, London
Caroline of Oxford, if someone told you to stick you head in a meat grinder would you do it, just because everyone else does? If anyone has to take any form of drugs they are very sad and need to get a life where they see reality as it really is, instead of having to get their kicks from taking something that makes the poor sops feel better about things. Grow up!
- Sue, Orpington, Kent
This governments' track record suggests that the whole cabinet is permanently stoned, so the fact that the home secretary has admitted to smoking at university should come as no surprise! It's time to begin a SERIOUS debate about the drugs laws, which have comprehensively failed in the past and will continue to fail in the future, as prohibition has shown the world over.
- Bobby Smith, Surrey, UK
As an occasional user of cannabis, this story appals me as it rightly should anyone who has a freethinking mind. It is not the fact the home secretary abused drugs as a youth but more that this story shows the hypocrisy of the war on drugs.
Although in some situations drugs are a negative thing, many people have encountered them in their daily lives and not come off the worst for it. I am not surprised that a politician has this sort of back story. I believe that many more people in this sort of position of power have done things like this in their youth and been unaffected by the results.
The issue I have with this story is that it seems to one rule for a certain type of person and another for the rest of us. Drugs are stigmatised by people who don't understand the mind of a user and yet many people experiment in their youth and seem to think that the stereotype doesn't apply to them. I am worried not that Jacqui Smith did this sort of experimentation when she was young; I am more concerned that she is using this as a further chance to demonise others who have made this choice.
The fact she says she was 'wrong' to do it and that it has helped her learn the dangers of the drug is a manipulation of the average persons fear of substance abuse. Its a lifestyle choice that some choose to make but I resent that often the people who set the standard on drugs are people who have very little experience of that sort of lifestyle.
Addiction is a sickness, not a crime.
- Somewhat Concerned, The North, UK
Oooooh, big respect to my homey secretary! This really smacks of trying to make a name for herself by being "down with the kids", how very Blair/Cameron.
- Trevor Roll, London
I would be more shocked if someone told me they hadn't smoked dope at Uni. It's just pot, for crying out loud, get over it.
- Caroline, Oxford
Is this country ever going to grow up?
Who cares what someone once did when they were growing up. Personally, I think the more experiences our politicians have had, the better they are able to represent the opinions of a wider section of the population.
Any let's be honest... how many of us can stand up and claim to have no skeletons in the cupboard? The expression 'People in glass houses...' springs to mind.
Get a grip!
- Christopher, London
Perhaps the appropriate legal punishment might also give her a better view of the responsibilities of being an MP.
- Lezli, London/UK
I'm sorry - there is no "overwhelming medical evidence" showing cannabis has caused a "string of horrific killings". None whatsoever.
- Moz, London
