very mention of the issue was anathema until june 8 - are keen to see a debate over the decriminalisation of cannabis.
Tory leadership hopefuis reveal their inner ibera leal Ings. Labour MPs allow themselves a rare mention of the real world, and even right wing fome Secretary David relaxation of police efforts to enforce one of the most widely-flouted laws since the days of prohibition.
There is no doube that a change of policy is urgently required: but in the run-up to Alliance in England and the Scottish Socialist Party were the most up-front advocates of legalising cannabis and decriminalising other drues In Oxford East, Socialist Alliance candidate John Lister wens up-front to oreak te caboo which had kept an issue of concern to milions of young voters shrouded in silence.
His press release, a week before the ciection threw dorm a challenge to the major parties to debate and defend credibility, but it is stil upheid by politicians who are hope- Terry Conway lessly out of touch with evenes in the real world. The danger is that without any discussion of this issue in the Election campaign, a vote for Labour or the bries will be interpreted as a vote for another five years of hypocrisy - and another bonanza for the drug barons.
The Socialist Allance is for the decriminalisation of cannabis and all drugs. This is the best way to squeeze out the gangs, control prices, reguevenue to fund acessible health facilities for people with cohol abuse, y taxing sale f recreational drug A similar policy has long been part of the platform of the Scottish Socialist Party, which paigns for:
• Lcensing the sale and pro duction of cannabis for medical and personal use, to break the link between soft drugs and otentially lethal drugs such as o carang mara resources to help addicts break г реорю оп псарасту белю There can be no doubt that aready more draconian tha people realise. The inequity in Blair's decision to make attacks on people with disabilities one of the first acts of his second of Blair's first round of The all-work test, the result term was not acidental.
"reforms" means that people lament, attacks on incapacity are treated in a demeaning and benefic resulted in outrage last unfar way because the test itself ignores the reality that time round. He wants to get the protests out of the way mary inesses and disabilities are not static. People can be unable to But what is actually at stake move or do arything for themThe regime currently faced selves some of the time, and on other ocasions be much more "performance" is tested on one particular ocasion. Procle are examined not by their own doctors but by peo especifically employed by the Department of Health and Social Security to carry our Not ordy therefore is there a problem about them not knowing the people they are examining. but more importantly the concern of their you are not looking for work. What is proposed now seems essentially to be to apply these existing traps to greater numlar basis. These moves also need to be changes. The first term of New Labour saw a further tightening of the whole benefit system which has already increased the numero no e ti complete social exclusion. There is an ideological assualt here too. The results of this will be human tragedies. Some people will be forced into insecure and badly paid jobs, but still others will end up outside society all together. Social exclusion will Increase even further. There are aready signs that this fresh attack will be resisted as it was before. Socialists and the unions must lend their support to local and national campaigns to defend disabled people against this cynical