Opinions - Ecstasy is a safe drug, says police chief

[chemlove]

A police chief came under fresh criticism last night after suggesting that the drug ecstasy is less dangerous than aspirin.
Richard Brunstrom, the chief constable of North Wales, made the claim as he repeated his call for drugs to be decriminalised.




Mr Brunstrom made a formal submission last year to a Home Office review advocating the legalisation of illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. The Government rejected that call, but Mr Brunstrom yesterday kept up his campaign on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.

"The prohibition regime does not work. It transfers billions of pounds of our money into the hands of organised criminals," he said.

"Legalisation and subsequent regulation of proscribed drugs is inevitable," he added, predicting that the change could come in 10 years' time.
The chief constable said that some illegal drugs were less dangerous than over-the-counter drugs including aspirin.
He said: "Ecstasy is a remarkably safe substance, far safer than aspirin. It is far less dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, both of which are freely available."
There have been more than 200 ecstasy-related deaths in Britain since 1996, according to the Home Office. An article in the British Medical Journal last year put the risk of death from using the drug as high as one in 2,000 for first-time users.
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Mr Brunstrom won the broad support of his police authority last year for his views on decriminalisation, but the Government has repeatedly rebuffed his suggestion.
A Home Office spokesman said yesterday: "Ecstasy can and does kill unpredictably - there is no such thing as a 'safe dose'. The Government firmly believes that ecstasy should remain a Class A drug."
He added: "The Government is opposed to the legalisation of drugs which would increase drug-related harm and break both international and domestic law."
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, accused Mr Brunstrom of offering "simplistic and convenient solutions" to drug abuse.
He said: "One reason that the Government's drugs policy has failed in the past 10 years is because of the confused and ill thought-out attitudes of both the Government and some senior policemen.
"If you thoughtlessly downgrade cannabis or treat dangerous drugs as 'no worse than aspirin', you make a gift to the drug dealers and criminals who are destroying the lives of so many young people."
There have been several calls for Mr Brunstrom's resignation. A petition last year on the Downing Street website that called for him to quit received more than 3,000 signatures.
Critics have called him "the mad mullah of the traffic Taliban" because of his enthusiasm for speed cameras and his tough line on speeding.
In November, a police watchdog criticised the way he showed photos of a decapitated motorcyclist without the permission of the victim's family.
He has also investigated Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister, and Anne Robinson, the television presenter, for allegedly making anti-Welsh remarks.
Those inquiries led to nothing, and led to claims that Mr Brunstrom was misusing police resources.


I WAS ASKED TO GIVE THE WEBSITE

I FOUND THIS WHICH REFERENCES THE SAME ARTICLE
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...43-952,00.html

ONCE I FIND THE ORIGINAL (I AM CURRENTLY BROWSING THROUGH MY OLD WEBSITE VISITS TO FIND IT, AND ONCE I DO ILL ADD THAT LINK TOO

*edit* this is the link to the actual article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.../ndrugs215.xml

[Micklemouse]

Please post link/url for original article, stating where it was found.

[Pondlife]

I think this new thread belongs under this thread about Richard Brunstrom's controversial claims: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44629

The Today programme is a daily news and current events programme on UK BBC Radio 4. They regularly interview public figures, and I would guess that Brunstrom got a 5-minute slot to air his views. It won't be a whole programme dedicated to this subject. The URL for the BBC Radio 4 Today program is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/

[Micklemouse]

As it is specifically about Ecstasy it can stay here for now, but thanks for linking to the other article, & the interview Pondlife - saved me a job!

What I want is for Chemlove to post the source of the article he pasted into the above post.

[chemlove]

links posted sorry about that one.

I am still learning the forum thing.

By the way I didn't know there was a section about this
I think this new thread belongs under this thread about Richard Brunstrom's controversial claims: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=44629

or i would have posted it there sorry for any confusion.