Before allowing cannabis to circulate freely in the adult population we have to ask what effect this would have on its availability to children
Danny Alexander would rather have his cold, blood-spattered, lifeless body hauled off to the morgue than see a cut in the top rate of tax
While cannabis might be relatively harmless to policy-makers, the same does not apply to ordinary working people.
Advertising and the other tools of crass commercialism play a part in shaping our culture, but at the heart of it is an ideology of pleasure-seeking self-centredness
Last year, the Deep End featured a Julie Bindel article on prostitution. In a more recent article for the Spectator, she covers the same issue – in particular the failure of legalisation in the Netherlands – but makes some useful additional points. Advocates of liberalisation – whether of the law on prostitution, drug dealing or […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter The Daily Mail has written up a new opinion poll on drugs policy, conducted by Ipsos MORI. “Just one in seven want drugs laws liberalised and majority say possession should remain criminal offence,” reads their headline – and it’s true. Looking at the full results, only 14 per cent of […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Not so long ago, people were both more free and more orderly. For example, there were no race relations laws: you could say what you liked about ethnic minorities (as they usually weren't called then). The English always drank: "He gives your Hollander a vomit ere the next pottle […]
When people claim that cannabis doesn’t kill anyone, what they seem to be suggesting is that people don’t die from overdosing on the drug. In this limited sense, they may be right. But, make no mistake, cannabis is a killer. For a start, smoking pot is a really good way of delivering a variety of toxic […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Chris Grayling has a difficult time ahead of him. For the rest of this Parliament, he will be dealing with an uncomfortable situation at the Ministry of Justice. For example, Ken Clarke had to weigh up not cutting as much as he could from legal advice services, or cutting […]
On Friday, the Deep End featured Damian Thompson’s brilliant piece for the Spectator on addiction. Focusing on pornography, he shows how technology is widening the exposure of our society to addictive activities. The conventional wisdom is that addiction is a demand-led process, i.e. that addiction drives supply. But Thompson argues that history shows the opposite, i.e. […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Ahead of David Cameron's announcement later today that patients will be given the opportunity to trial pioneering new drugs before the end of clinical tests, David Willetts, Science and Universities Minister has spoken of the need for a "very clear route” from the research lab to NHS patient. Joining up […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter ConHome recently hosted a debate on drug legalisation. It was kicked off by this pro-reform article from Bruce Anderson. The case against legalisation was then made by Christian Guy. The comments on both threads were heavily in favour of Bruce Anderson's position. I tested the overall view of Tory members […]
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that David Cameron and Annabel Goldie are considering a former top MI6 man, Andrew Fulton, as the new Chairman of the Scottish Conservatives. This is what the article tells us about him: Last posting was head of station in Washington. He also served in East Berlin, Rome and Saigon. He […]
Radio 4’s World This Weekend briefly mentioned this video. Mitt Romney is left looking evasive and perhaps even rude after being asked if he’ll arrest a wheelchair-bound man for using ‘medical marijuana’. Although the issue may be real it was clearly a set-up. At the end of the interview the man videoing the encounter pursues […]
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