Advertisement
Advertisement
READ ON MOTHERBOARD: I Tried Getting 'High' on Drugless Psychedelic Alternatives in the Suburbs
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
WATCH: Our documentary 'Wolf of the West End,' about the infamous fraudster and socialite Eddie Davenport.
There is a tacit agreement, both centrally and locally, to take the foot off the gas on drug crime. Although the Tory government enabled regional police forces to pursue their own agenda on crime (very few forces have prioritized drugs), police chiefs have been instructed by the Home Office to focus on child sexual exploitation, people trafficking, firearms and cyber crime."It would not be surprising if inspectors and sergeants had responded to falling officer numbers by telling those that remain to focus on the offenses that really matter to their local communities, which may not be drug possession offenses," one criminal justice expert told me.Backing away from the frontline of the drug trade suits both the police, who have little desire to chase down drug users, and the government, which has more pressing priorities for its shrunken police force.That, in 2015, the government is pushing to get tougher on drugs while also facilitating—even inadvertently—a culture where police are less tough on drugs is just the latest in a long line of drug war paradoxes: a nighttime economy fueled by drugs, a heroin treatment system that allows the sick to be slung in jail, and teenagers cornered into buying substances that become more obscure and dangerous every year.You would think that, at some point soon, the government might have the balls to ignore the scaremongers and resolve to banish these paradoxes by getting stuck in and managing the drug problem, rather than continually swatting at thin air. But yet another year down, it's sadly not looking any more likely.Follow Max on Twitter.