Drugs Reform Charity Urges British Government To Make Cocaine, Ecstasy Available For Sale In Pharmacies

Drugs reform charity Transform are pushing for the UK government to legalise cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines in a bid to undermine the global drug trade and related crime.

The non-profit organisation have outlined their proposals in a new book titled How To Regulate Stimulants: A Practical Guide, which includes a foreword written by New Zealand's former prime minister, Helen Clark. A passage in the book from Clark reads: "As consensus grows that the 'war on drugs' has failed, so does the need for a frank exploration of the alternatives... It is essential that we begin a serious discussion on how we regulate stimulants."

The book includes a mock-up image of what prescription-based cocaine would look like, which Transform said could be sold over the counter by specially trained chemists. In addition to that, the book recommends that a specialist regulatory agency, overseen by the government, should be brought in to handle the license production of drugs, who would then sort out pricing as well as a ban on advertising.

Along with the former New Zealand Prime Minister, Colombia's former president, Juan Manuel Santos, has also backed the campaign, stating last year that legalisation is the only method that stops organised criminal organisations. 

Transform's CEO. Dr James Nicholls, said that "the status quo can't continue," that the book's proposals "would take drug supply away from organised crime groups, creating a system that reduces harm rather than increasing it."

Ray Lakeman, a campaigner with Anyone's Child: Families for Safer Drug Control, said: "It's time to accept drug use happens and find ways to make it safer. I hope this book helps make those reforms a reality."

A Home Office spokesperson said of the matter: "Absolutely not." They remain opposed to legalising cannabis, too, "because it is detrimental to health and mental health".