The nearly final draft of the motion for Spring conference

Conference notes:

A) The continuing failure of a prohibitionist policy on psychoactive drugs to reduce consumption of these drugs in the UK and to tackle the many social, economic and health consequences of their use.
B) Problem drug users commit over half of all acquisitive crimes and account for around 95% of street prostitution
C) The destabilising influence the drugs trade is having internationally especially in Latin America, the Caribbean, West Africa, and Afghanistan, where up to 50% of Taliban income is from the opium trade.
D) A comprehensive survey by the WHO has demonstrated that there is no association between more stringent prohibition and lower levels of drug use. Progressive policies in Portugal and Switzerland have achieved excellent results and have broad public support.


Conference believes:

1) We have a moral duty to ensure that drug addicts are not compelled to harm themselves or others by funding their drug use through prostitution, acquisitive crime or drug dealing.
2) Harm reduction should be paramount as a consideration in drugs policy and reduction in the use of drugs is a vitally important contributing factor in that effort.
3) An end to prohibition would increase respect for and co-operation with our police forces, remove drug dealing as an attractive career path for our youth, remove a major driver of gang violence, reduce prison overcrowding and free up tens of thousands of police for other priorities.
4) The treasury would benefit from billions of pounds in saved criminal justice costs. The population would benefit directly from reduced costs of crime and lowered insurance premiums.
5) Deaths, injuries and illness brought about by overdose, contaminants, blood-borne infection, general ignorance of safe use practices and ignorance of the mental health implications of drug use would be reduced.
6) It is precisely because of the Liberal Democrats full support for the excellent work of the UN in promoting liberty, health, human rights, peace and security across the globe that we should campaign for the urgent reform of the drugs conventions which are clearly creating quite opposite effects.


Conference therefore calls for:

a) Strict regulation and control of the manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs to be a key policy in the fight against acquisitive and organised crime, prostitution, the Taliban, mental and physical ill health, child neglect, unemployment and poverty.
b) Supervised consumption of prescribed or low-cost drugs to be available to drugs users who might otherwise deal drugs, commit acquisitive crime or enter sex work.
c) The consideration of a licensing scheme that would ensure education on each specific drug is administered before an individual is licensed to purchase it at a licensed pharmacist or clinic, and that would ensure under 18s would not be able to purchase drugs, alcohol or tobacco in shops.
d) Close monitoring of patterns of use and the impacts of reform on public and societal health to be carried out while maintaining individual's rights for their drug use history to be completely confidential.
e) The opening of dialogue with our neighbours and allies to facilitate Britain gaining wide support from the international community for when we responsibly take the lead in this course of action.