Despite doing more drugs than anyone else, the Tories are planning a crack-down on recreational drug use, and from the sounds of it – they’re not messing around at all.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is spearheading the campaign, which will operate under a ‘three-strikes’ policy. Here’s how that will work, as reported by Sky News:
Under the “three strikes” policy:
- First-time offenders will be required to pay for and attend a drug awareness course or pay an increased Fixed Penalty Notice or face prosecution.
- Those found using drugs for a second time will be given a caution, sent on a further drug awareness course and face a period of mandatory, random drug testing for a period of up to three months.
- Offenders caught for a third time would likely to be charged for their offence, and upon conviction could be subject to an exclusion order banning them from a specific location, such as a nightclub. They could also be given a drug tag monitoring their usage and see their passports and driving licences confiscated.
All this despite all the research over the years on the ‘war on drugs’ and how it does not work. Get caught smoking a joint or doing coke in a nightclub and you’re looking at drugs awareness courses, hefty fines, random drug testing, nightclub bans, and even having your driving license and passport confiscated FFS. What next? Prohibition?!
Priti Patel says:
“In line with our strategy to tackle the harmful consequences of drugs, we aim to reverse the rising trend of substance use in society, to protect the public from the harm and violence of drug misuse.”
How about random drug testing for MPs? I think it’s only fair they roll out that policy too if this is the direction they want to go in. They could even trial this 3-strike policy in the House of Commons and see what good it does. But hey, we know that leading by example is never gonna happen with this government.
You can access a government survey on these proposed plans HERE and let them know what you think. Pretty wild that they’re lumping cannabis in with hard drugs or that they think this should be a criminal justice issue rather than a social issue. Click the link and make sure your voice is heard.
