GP proposes regulation of drugs

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Kailash Chand argued that a policy of prohibition had failed and drugs could be heavily taxed and regulated just like alcohol and tobacco.

The money could be ploughed back into education and other rehabilitation programmes, he said.

He argued in this week's British Medical Journal (BMJ) that regulation and control would cut burglary, gun crime, bring women off the streets and more than halve the prison population.

It would also raise billions in tax revenue, said the Ashton under Lyne-based GP.

Legislation would also mean that drug users could buy from places where they could be sure the drugs had not been cut with other substances, he added.

There would be clear information about the risks involved and guidance on how to seek treatment.

But Joseph Califano, Chairman of the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, argued that neither legislation nor decriminalisation is the answer.

He said that more resources and energy should be devoted to research, prevention, and treatment.