Now, onto the meat of drug policy – what an independent Wales could do differently.
Let’s assume that recreational drugs which are currently illegal remain illegal after independence. What strategies would be available to an independent Wales in order to to “win” the domestic front in the War on Drugs?
Firstly, it’s worth deciding what “winning” the War on Drugs looks like.
Global Examples
- Criminal Justice Approach with Drug Classification: EnglandandWales – As mentioned, this is the UK Government’s current approach to drugs. The Welsh Government’s focus on the health aspects is largely because they have no criminal justice remit. It’s debatable whether this has been a success or not, but you could argue that it’s a more balanced approach than the likes of Sweden.
- Criminal Justice Approach without Strict Drug Classification: Ireland – Ireland’s drug laws are almost identical to the UK and they’ve followed a similar approach in terms of policy. There’s no formal drug classification system for recreational drugs in the same way as the UK and simple possession is more likely to result in a caution than anything more serious.
- Hybrid Approach: Netherlands – Contrary to popular opinion, drug laws in the Netherlands are strict for “hard drugs” and despite the tolerance of “soft drugs”, cannabis is illegal. You could describe their approach as a hybrid, where the authorities look the other way for lower-level drug use but come down hard on traffickers/suppliers and dealers of harder drugs like heroin and cocaine.
Conclusions
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
This suits those who want to appear tough on crime and tough on drugs, but at the same time reject the (almost thuggish) zero-tolerance approach to drugs seen elsewhere – which is precisely why it was right up New Labour’s alley.
The existing policy can be tweaked – much as it has in the Netherlands – to focus the attention of law enforcement on harder drugs. At the same time, they look the other way for drugs like cannabis as long as the user is out of sight and doesn’t put themselves or someone else in danger (i.e. drug driving).
