Polanski sets Kuenssberg straight on drugs

The BBC‘s Laura Kuenssberg interviewed Green party leader Zack Polanski. The Greens have a policy to legalise, regulate, and use a public health approach to drugs.

Polanski calls out ‘unnecessary deaths’

With reference to that policy, Kuenssberg tried to trip him up with tired propaganda from proponents of the ‘war’ on drugs, but failed:

The interviewer said:

Keir Starmer said you were high on drugs and soft on Putin.

Polanksi replied:

That was beneath the audience of the Prime Minister. There are thousands of unnecessary deaths from drug harms and dangerous drugs, what we need is a public health approach. That’s not just me saying that, that’s experts. So when we talk about legalising drugs, the key bit is about legalising and regulating. If someone has a problematic relationship with drugs, surely they should be seen by a medical health professional to help them.

Legalising and regulating drugs is the sober approach. Portugal decriminalised possession of drugs in 2001 and the results have been positive. Drug death rates fell following the reforms 15 years ago. And compared to the EU, they’ve remained much lower. In 2019, drug deaths in Portugal were six for every million people. The EU average was 23.7 per million. In Scotland it was much worse at 315 deaths per million.

‘Hypocritical’

Kuenssberg continued:

Are you sending a message to young people that if you legalise all drugs its ok to use drugs?

But Polanski responded:

Well Keir Starmer made a joke about taking drugs at university. What we see is that this is very racialised. Very often it is young black people stopped and searched on the street, eight times more than their white peers. The danger is happening now where we’re pushing it into street corners… I’ve never taken drugs in my life, or even drunk alcohol, but I don’t sit here as the fun police. People should do what they want to do, it just wasn’t for me. But this is about a system change, against a hypocritical approach. We’ve had Labour and Conservative MPs say on the record they’ve taken drugs, but they’re both putting in prison people who have taken drugs, and again, it is disproportionately young black people

In Portugal, use of drugs by 15-24 year olds actually fell in the decade following decriminalisation. So Kuenssberg is missing the mark.

Trauma causes addiction, not drugs

Evidence analysed from a wide array of experts shows that trauma, environment, and issues like social isolation lead to drug addiction. It’s not a fact of the drugs themselves. This is revealed in Johann Hari’s book Chasing the Scream.

Another issue with prohibition is that people with heroin or crack addictions are stigmatised and isolated even further because of their addictions. Whereas, in Portugal they are mentored into increasing social connections and leading vibrant lives. Instead, people with addictions are integrated into society.

This policy is outdated and Polanski is right to challenge it.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/BBC Politics