The war on drugs is based on show-off politics that does not work, says a former director of Britain’s anti-drugs unit. From the Guardian:

A former senior civil servant who was responsible for coordinating the [British] government’s anti-drugs policy now believes that legalisation would be less harmful than the current strategy. Julian Critchley, the former director of the Cabinet Office’s anti-drugs unit, also said that his views were shared by the “overwhelming majority” of professionals in the field, including police officers, health workers and members of the government.

He also claimed that New Labour’s policy on drugs was based on what was thought would play well with the Daily Mail readership, regardless of evidence of what worked. Downing Street policy advisers were said to have suggested stunts such as sending boats down the Thames to catch smugglers to coincide with policy announcements.

It is time to stop wasting taxpayers’ money on this ridiculous farce.