The British Medical Journal calls for the legalization of drugs

In contrast to our Academy of Pharmacy, the British Medical Journal, one of Britain's oldest medical journals, for the first time calls for the legalization of illicit drugs.

Prohibitive laws have failed to reduce supply and demand, curb addiction, suppress violence or cut organized crime's profits, argues the newspaper, calling the «War on Drugs» a failure.

He also writes that banning the production, supply, possession and use of certain drugs for non-medical purposes was causing enormous harm.

«It is imperative to explore more effective alternatives to the criminalization of drug use and supply» says the BMJ in its editorial.

The journal's editor-in-chief, Dr. Fiona Godlee, and Richard Hurley, head of themes and debates, highlighted the fact that drug use has increased dramatically worldwide, with a quarter of a billion adults worldwide potentially using illegal drugs such as cannabis or heroin in 2014.

The BMJ also reports that some countries have already abolished criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs. These include, Portugal replaced criminal sanctions for drug use with community sentences and medical intervention 15 years ago, while the Psychoactive Substances Act today criminalizes the supply but not the consumption of synthetic drugs.

Some American states like California have a legal cannabis market, and the Netherlands has tolerated regulated cannabis sales for years.

The magazine's editors call on doctors to take their place at the center of the debate on alternative policies to promote health and respect individual dignity.

«Health should be at the center of this debate, and so should healthcare professionals,» they explain.

«Change is coming, and physicians should use their authority to call for pragmatic reform dictated by science and ethics.».

In the same issue, former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and Baroness Molly Meacher come together to say that UK drug policy has been irrational for 55 years and that now is the right time for a wider review of drug policy.

They call on the government to legalize cannabis for therapeutic use, and to rethink the medical prescription of heroin, which has shown positive results in Switzerland, with a drop in consumption and an improvement in the health and daily lives of drug addicts.

These parliamentarians are also calling for an end to criminal penalties for personal possession and consumption of all drugs.

This subject is now shared by Ireland, A country where more and more people are in favor of legalizing medical cannabis.

Via The Independent