The reasoning from shadow justice secretary Steve Reed:
>But Mr Reed, who used to lead Lambeth Borough Council, said he had tackled problems in Brixton.
>”You couldn’t walk 100 yards from the tube station to the bus stop without people stopping you to try and sell you drugs and it deterred people coming there for recreation [and] to use local shops and businesses,” he said.
>”It was really driving the area into a downward spiral economically. But in addition to that, because that created the sense that you could come and buy your drugs in Brixton, it became like London’s drug supermarket.”
>He went on: “You just want that trade off the streets. So I don’t think for a second that we should be looking at legalising drugs recreationally.”
Prohibition creates crime and crime costs the public money
It’s an open goal, can Labour score? No, of course not. That would be far too logical and simple.
Legalise, control, *and tax (maybe all?) drugs*. The revenue raised (and money saved) can be used to fund drug rooms and addiction treatment.
Prohibition has failed.
Couldn’t disagree more. Drugs exist. There’s no stopping those who want them from acquiring them and they have no real clue about what has been mixed with them to add weight so the dealer earns more money. Legalise them for those who want them, use the revenue to police and prosecute or whatever you deem worthy.
If we’re banning drugs let’s not forget alcohol which is MUCH more detrimental than weed and cigarettes which cause lung and many other cancers.
But you can buy both of those in sweet shops and post offices across the UK. BAN them ALL or NONE.
It’s already legal, the government are just living in denial.
You can order 5kgs of whatever you want, to your door in 15 minutes.
Tell me drugs are bad while I roll my next joint, I could use a good laugh.
How can you not see that liberal democracy has failed us, when your politicians come out with this kind of nonsense.
You can always rely on starmer to fuck up a clear cut opportunity. How is he in charge of labour, he’s a blatant company man and a suck up
Imagine the tax income from legalised weed. It would be billions
Can’t see any reasonable argument for keep weed illegal. And honestly we should legalise cocaine. The popularity is massive and by keeping it legal all we are doing is driving up illegal activity instead of profiting by taxing it. You can get cocaine in a small town quicker than a billionaire dollar company can deliver you fast food, the war of drugs is lost. Let’s make some money at least.
Thailand just legalised pot. It’s quickly turned into a multi billion baht industry. People are respectfully not smoking around schools or public places.
And everyone is going about their lives as normal.
Drugs won the war on drugs years ago in this country. Legalise them, regulate them and tax them!
End ancient first past the post system and devoice these spineless fence sitters
Love this, the party I “have to” vote for to get the Tories out vehemently opposing the kind of policies I actually want time and again. Punch in the arm or kick in the balls, sir?
Legalise them and tax them, let people take what they want as long as they don’t impose it on others or affect others
Edit: thanks for upvotes was expecting to be downvoted to hell lol
Right wing papers trying to distract us from the massive Tory scandals by inflating some intra-Labour dissent drama that’s suddenly super interesting and relevant right?
I’m 100% for decriminalisation of all drugs (possession up to a certain amount) and legalisation of cannabis but what I want more than that is to not have a Tory government anymore
Either 4D chess or a major L but I don’t like the sound of it
Legalize weed. Hundreds of thousands if not millions smoke it anyway and it’s less harmful that tobacco or alcohol.
Weed vendors need a license (costs a fee).
Weed profits taxed at 30%.
Funnel weed profits/fee license into NHS.
**I’ve just fixed a massive financial issue for this country. You’re welcome.**
Money on policing will be saved such as police raids for weed growers, prison time for weed offences and just overall police time dealing with weed offences.
Cannabis is now legal for a vast number of people in the USA, with no evidence of any harm being done. Both Tories and Labour have no excuse not to get their heads out of their arses when it comes to weed.
Legalise all of them, manufacture them here creates jobs.Tax them creates more money to use for the nhs. It will also put a massive hole in street crime, gang warfare. While they’re at it legalise prostitution make legitimate business which then pay tax…
Prohibition has failed. It never worked. It’s a joke. People *in prison* can get hold of drugs.
Prohibition began as a campaign against the working class and against non-whites. The laws aren’t enforced against the rich. The laws are disproportionately enforced against minorities.
The UK cannot afford to maintain this failed, counter-productive, immensely expensive policy. There is a huge gap between prohibition and making it legal to sell heroin in primary school playgrounds, and the dishonest attempts to use the fallacy of the excluded middle are expected from the likes of the Tories but vastly disappointing from a so-called Labour Party leader.
Simple politics. Labour need people who voted tory in 2019 to vote for Labour next time. Being ‘soft on drugs’ is more likely to put those voters off than encourage them to vote for you. Might get you some lib dem / Green voters, but that won’t win you any seats.
God I fucking hate Starmer. We need a new labour leader ASAP
I lost a lot of respect for Starmer when I saw him answer a question on liberalising weed laws.
“Blah blah years as a public prosecutor blah blah criminal gangs blah blah county lines blah blah harm to the community…”
Basically it was a great argument for legalizing weed and negating gang revenue – but intended somehow as an argument for perpetuating the ridiculous war on drugs.
I’ll still vote for him because I want the Tories out asap, but I wonder how many others will be put off from doing so after hearing him do such a convincing impression of a backwards, reactionary, right-wing Tory.
For anyone who doesn’t get why Starmer has this stance, you clearly don’t understand current Labours objective.
They are trying to stay as uncontroversial as possible to win tory votes and secure the next election. That’s it. You take a stance to legalise drugs and the daily mail will run hit piece after hit piece on how Starmer wants the youth to be methed up zombies.
Its a good strategy.
Everyone complaining about Kier Starmer and Labour missing a clear open goal here are forgetting the absolute savage lashing they would get from the conservative media for proposing this – they’d lose a shed load of votes and then wouldn’t get in power. Their priority, for better or worse, is to get the Tories out first and foremost and are doing this by appealing to the silent majority in the centre.
What is the point of Labour if you’re going to be Tories in red?
There is absoutely no reason why at least weed and mushrooms shouldnt be legalized.
Then I wouldnt have to spend like 170 for an oz.
The only reason I’m voting for labour at this point is for other people. I’m financially better off under the tories, but I genuinely give a shit about the youth, fabric of society and people who aren’t as fortunate.
Outside of that current labour is an uninspiring, unoriginal and has no appetite for real change.
Not surprising, they wouldn’t legalise weed even when their Chief Scientific Adviser advised it.
Like the TV Licence, the War on Drugs is a Twentieth Century relic. It clearly hasn’t worked. Think of the tax revenue from cannabis alone, even the US is on board.
It’s legal here in Canada, don’t listen to the rubbish and lies like this idiot is yapping about, it’s controlled and it keeps the crooks who were selling it illegally one step back.
I’m pretty left wing as it goes. I started out in life as a Conservative, and I’ve drifted ever left-ward the older I’ve gotten. I also happen to have a very good friend who is pretty centre-right. He voted for Brexit, he believes we should cut down immigration, and has a lot of other conservative viewpoints.
One thing that unites us politically is that we both find ourselves politically homeless as it were. He is out off voting for the Tories because he feels that the party is drifting away from what he usually votes for, they’re going ever more to the right and he doesn’t like it.
I have the same problem. Ideologically speaking, I would love to vote for Labour. Of course I’d want a labour government over a Tory one, but as the months go by, I find less and less of a reason to vote for them. They reflect less of my ideals.
I’m constantly beset by claims on social media that if you don’t vote for labour, you just end up with the Torys. Well I’m sorry, but that isn’t good enough. If Labour are to get into power, they need to be distinct from the conservatives, not just them but in red this time. Why should I vote for a party that firmly plants itself as the standard bearer of neoliberalism? I feel that under this leadership, supporters such as myself are just taken for granted, whilst Kier panders to lapsed conservatives. It’s bloody depressing when your choices are Tory, or Tory but in red.
Fucking do it already! It would massively cripple the crime networks in the union whilst simultaneously generating literal billions, the uk consumes a vast amount of illegal drugs. Let’s legalise it. Tax it. Use revenue to treat addiction, and the rest can just fund the nhs. It’s a fucking no brainier, one that seems fine in the alcohol/tobacco/caffeine industries
Labour will never get my vote because they reclassified cannabis from C to B. They also sacked prof David Nutt for saying that certain drugs are less harmful that alcohol.
Conservatives deserve credit for legalising medical cannabis in the UK
Legalise weed and I think the whole fucking country will support you!! Saying that, legalise it or not, I’m still gonna fucking smoke weed. If you don’t want my money, someone else will…
Is this really what the Labour Party stand for nowadays? Seems like they are desperately trying to be Tory lite to convert any Conservative voters instead of actually being a party that brings positive change and appeals to the younger demographic
How about we just start off with weed, show that’s it’s been done in other countries like the USA and some South American countries as well.
Maybe also legalise LSD/MDMA and shrooms in the future and for the rest they should be
decriminalised and treated as a health issue.
Cunts, the lot of em. I’ve been pretty supportive of Starmer but this is the issue I’m most passionate about.
So a Muslim mayor is attempting to legalise weed, only to be sabotaged by the leading liberal party of a liberal western nation.. this has got to be the parallel universe we’re living in
Billions could be made off cannabis but noooo drugs are bad mmmkayy
God forbid we use common sense, have prisons much more empty, have people alive and able to access treatment, etc.
​
I mean what a terrible world that would be.
What a fucking blockhead. “You want that stuff off the streets” —> e.g perhaps in a well regulated store?
The reality is and always will be that this is about finding something to persecute a group of people with and line the governments pockets. Cocaine is also rampant in London, but we won’t see oligarchs, bankers, and politicians being taken to jail.
41 comments
The reasoning from shadow justice secretary Steve Reed:
>But Mr Reed, who used to lead Lambeth Borough Council, said he had tackled problems in Brixton.
>”You couldn’t walk 100 yards from the tube station to the bus stop without people stopping you to try and sell you drugs and it deterred people coming there for recreation [and] to use local shops and businesses,” he said.
>”It was really driving the area into a downward spiral economically. But in addition to that, because that created the sense that you could come and buy your drugs in Brixton, it became like London’s drug supermarket.”
>He went on: “You just want that trade off the streets. So I don’t think for a second that we should be looking at legalising drugs recreationally.”
Prohibition creates crime and crime costs the public money
It’s an open goal, can Labour score? No, of course not. That would be far too logical and simple.
Legalise, control, *and tax (maybe all?) drugs*. The revenue raised (and money saved) can be used to fund drug rooms and addiction treatment.
Prohibition has failed.
Couldn’t disagree more. Drugs exist. There’s no stopping those who want them from acquiring them and they have no real clue about what has been mixed with them to add weight so the dealer earns more money. Legalise them for those who want them, use the revenue to police and prosecute or whatever you deem worthy.
If we’re banning drugs let’s not forget alcohol which is MUCH more detrimental than weed and cigarettes which cause lung and many other cancers.
But you can buy both of those in sweet shops and post offices across the UK. BAN them ALL or NONE.
It’s already legal, the government are just living in denial.
You can order 5kgs of whatever you want, to your door in 15 minutes.
Tell me drugs are bad while I roll my next joint, I could use a good laugh.
How can you not see that liberal democracy has failed us, when your politicians come out with this kind of nonsense.
You can always rely on starmer to fuck up a clear cut opportunity. How is he in charge of labour, he’s a blatant company man and a suck up
Imagine the tax income from legalised weed. It would be billions
Can’t see any reasonable argument for keep weed illegal. And honestly we should legalise cocaine. The popularity is massive and by keeping it legal all we are doing is driving up illegal activity instead of profiting by taxing it. You can get cocaine in a small town quicker than a billionaire dollar company can deliver you fast food, the war of drugs is lost. Let’s make some money at least.
Thailand just legalised pot. It’s quickly turned into a multi billion baht industry. People are respectfully not smoking around schools or public places.
And everyone is going about their lives as normal.
Drugs won the war on drugs years ago in this country. Legalise them, regulate them and tax them!
End ancient first past the post system and devoice these spineless fence sitters
Love this, the party I “have to” vote for to get the Tories out vehemently opposing the kind of policies I actually want time and again. Punch in the arm or kick in the balls, sir?
Legalise them and tax them, let people take what they want as long as they don’t impose it on others or affect others
Edit: thanks for upvotes was expecting to be downvoted to hell lol
Right wing papers trying to distract us from the massive Tory scandals by inflating some intra-Labour dissent drama that’s suddenly super interesting and relevant right?
I’m 100% for decriminalisation of all drugs (possession up to a certain amount) and legalisation of cannabis but what I want more than that is to not have a Tory government anymore
Either 4D chess or a major L but I don’t like the sound of it
Legalize weed. Hundreds of thousands if not millions smoke it anyway and it’s less harmful that tobacco or alcohol.
Weed vendors need a license (costs a fee).
Weed profits taxed at 30%.
Funnel weed profits/fee license into NHS.
**I’ve just fixed a massive financial issue for this country. You’re welcome.**
Money on policing will be saved such as police raids for weed growers, prison time for weed offences and just overall police time dealing with weed offences.
Cannabis is now legal for a vast number of people in the USA, with no evidence of any harm being done. Both Tories and Labour have no excuse not to get their heads out of their arses when it comes to weed.
Legalise all of them, manufacture them here creates jobs.Tax them creates more money to use for the nhs. It will also put a massive hole in street crime, gang warfare. While they’re at it legalise prostitution make legitimate business which then pay tax…
Prohibition has failed. It never worked. It’s a joke. People *in prison* can get hold of drugs.
Prohibition began as a campaign against the working class and against non-whites. The laws aren’t enforced against the rich. The laws are disproportionately enforced against minorities.
The UK cannot afford to maintain this failed, counter-productive, immensely expensive policy. There is a huge gap between prohibition and making it legal to sell heroin in primary school playgrounds, and the dishonest attempts to use the fallacy of the excluded middle are expected from the likes of the Tories but vastly disappointing from a so-called Labour Party leader.
Simple politics. Labour need people who voted tory in 2019 to vote for Labour next time. Being ‘soft on drugs’ is more likely to put those voters off than encourage them to vote for you. Might get you some lib dem / Green voters, but that won’t win you any seats.
God I fucking hate Starmer. We need a new labour leader ASAP
I lost a lot of respect for Starmer when I saw him answer a question on liberalising weed laws.
“Blah blah years as a public prosecutor blah blah criminal gangs blah blah county lines blah blah harm to the community…”
Basically it was a great argument for legalizing weed and negating gang revenue – but intended somehow as an argument for perpetuating the ridiculous war on drugs.
I’ll still vote for him because I want the Tories out asap, but I wonder how many others will be put off from doing so after hearing him do such a convincing impression of a backwards, reactionary, right-wing Tory.
For anyone who doesn’t get why Starmer has this stance, you clearly don’t understand current Labours objective.
They are trying to stay as uncontroversial as possible to win tory votes and secure the next election. That’s it. You take a stance to legalise drugs and the daily mail will run hit piece after hit piece on how Starmer wants the youth to be methed up zombies.
Its a good strategy.
Everyone complaining about Kier Starmer and Labour missing a clear open goal here are forgetting the absolute savage lashing they would get from the conservative media for proposing this – they’d lose a shed load of votes and then wouldn’t get in power. Their priority, for better or worse, is to get the Tories out first and foremost and are doing this by appealing to the silent majority in the centre.
What is the point of Labour if you’re going to be Tories in red?
There is absoutely no reason why at least weed and mushrooms shouldnt be legalized.
Then I wouldnt have to spend like 170 for an oz.
The only reason I’m voting for labour at this point is for other people. I’m financially better off under the tories, but I genuinely give a shit about the youth, fabric of society and people who aren’t as fortunate.
Outside of that current labour is an uninspiring, unoriginal and has no appetite for real change.
Not surprising, they wouldn’t legalise weed even when their Chief Scientific Adviser advised it.
Like the TV Licence, the War on Drugs is a Twentieth Century relic. It clearly hasn’t worked. Think of the tax revenue from cannabis alone, even the US is on board.
It’s legal here in Canada, don’t listen to the rubbish and lies like this idiot is yapping about, it’s controlled and it keeps the crooks who were selling it illegally one step back.
I’m pretty left wing as it goes. I started out in life as a Conservative, and I’ve drifted ever left-ward the older I’ve gotten. I also happen to have a very good friend who is pretty centre-right. He voted for Brexit, he believes we should cut down immigration, and has a lot of other conservative viewpoints.
One thing that unites us politically is that we both find ourselves politically homeless as it were. He is out off voting for the Tories because he feels that the party is drifting away from what he usually votes for, they’re going ever more to the right and he doesn’t like it.
I have the same problem. Ideologically speaking, I would love to vote for Labour. Of course I’d want a labour government over a Tory one, but as the months go by, I find less and less of a reason to vote for them. They reflect less of my ideals.
I’m constantly beset by claims on social media that if you don’t vote for labour, you just end up with the Torys. Well I’m sorry, but that isn’t good enough. If Labour are to get into power, they need to be distinct from the conservatives, not just them but in red this time. Why should I vote for a party that firmly plants itself as the standard bearer of neoliberalism? I feel that under this leadership, supporters such as myself are just taken for granted, whilst Kier panders to lapsed conservatives. It’s bloody depressing when your choices are Tory, or Tory but in red.
Fucking do it already! It would massively cripple the crime networks in the union whilst simultaneously generating literal billions, the uk consumes a vast amount of illegal drugs. Let’s legalise it. Tax it. Use revenue to treat addiction, and the rest can just fund the nhs. It’s a fucking no brainier, one that seems fine in the alcohol/tobacco/caffeine industries
Labour will never get my vote because they reclassified cannabis from C to B. They also sacked prof David Nutt for saying that certain drugs are less harmful that alcohol.
Conservatives deserve credit for legalising medical cannabis in the UK
Legalise weed and I think the whole fucking country will support you!! Saying that, legalise it or not, I’m still gonna fucking smoke weed. If you don’t want my money, someone else will…
Is this really what the Labour Party stand for nowadays? Seems like they are desperately trying to be Tory lite to convert any Conservative voters instead of actually being a party that brings positive change and appeals to the younger demographic
How about we just start off with weed, show that’s it’s been done in other countries like the USA and some South American countries as well.
Maybe also legalise LSD/MDMA and shrooms in the future and for the rest they should be
decriminalised and treated as a health issue.
Cunts, the lot of em. I’ve been pretty supportive of Starmer but this is the issue I’m most passionate about.
So a Muslim mayor is attempting to legalise weed, only to be sabotaged by the leading liberal party of a liberal western nation.. this has got to be the parallel universe we’re living in
Billions could be made off cannabis but noooo drugs are bad mmmkayy
God forbid we use common sense, have prisons much more empty, have people alive and able to access treatment, etc.
​
I mean what a terrible world that would be.
What a fucking blockhead. “You want that stuff off the streets” —> e.g perhaps in a well regulated store?
The reality is and always will be that this is about finding something to persecute a group of people with and line the governments pockets. Cocaine is also rampant in London, but we won’t see oligarchs, bankers, and politicians being taken to jail.