Who’s been saying what..? DDN’s round-up of what’s being said in the national papers
The victims of the war on drugs in Britain are predominantly the working class – be they black, white or Asian. The manner in which the war on drugs is carried out protects the wealthy from prosecution; exemplified by the late Eva Rausing, from a billionaire family, who only received a caution in 2008 for the possession of 2.5g of heroin and 60g of cocaine.
Avinash Tharoor, Independent, 2 October
In many ways, alcohol is the new tobacco. It is a multibillion-dollar international industry dealing with market-friendly governments, enjoying virtually unrestricted access to advertising despite the growing evidence that the substance they sell has significant health risks.
Ann Dowsett Johnston, Guardian, 3 October
Stigma is what society uses, in an ad-hoc manner, to control behaviour which is antisocial or harmful to an individual. If you insist that we should not stigmatise young single mothers, for example, you will one day have many more young single mothers.
Rod Liddle, Spectator, 19 October
I don’t actually care whether Gideon [Osborne] had a toot or not. Nor do I care if he got off on any activity with Mistress Pain. He has certainly inflicted enough pain on the rest of us. I do care that we cannot have any kind of open conversation about drug use from the political class. What he may have put up his nose remains his business. He should keep that nose of his out of ours.
Suzanne Moore, Guardian, 14 October
People who want to get rid of what’s left of our drug laws always make a great fuss when senior policemen join their side, as if this were a hugely important surprise. In fact, the police have been prominent in this campaign for years.
Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday, 6 October
Why Nick Clegg chose to give Jeremy Browne’s job to Norman Baker is a bit of a mystery. The Lib Dem leader was unhappy with the way Mr Browne let himself be used as a doormat by [Theresa] May… But it doesn’t follow that Mr Browne should be replaced by one of those green-ink cranks who make public life so interesting.
Benedict Brogan, Telegraph, 8 October
Baker is of course not the first man prone to seeing secret plots and shadowy schemes in every corner – but he is the first such man to be in charge of the national crime agency, drug and alcohol policy and forensic science… At last he can discover the truth! Unless, of course, this is all a trick by the authorities – and that’s exactly what they want us to think.
Jonathan Freedland, Guardian, 8 October
The most widely credited theory advanced thus far contends that Mr Clegg, the mischievous sprite, sent Mr Baker to Theresa May’s department solely to send the home secretary into a frenzy of incandescent rage. Since she was not consulted about the move, and would rather be saddled with Fidel Castro, this he has achieved… What seems dead easy to predict is that Mr Clegg will now be torn to the tiniest shreds – and not only by the Tories and the papers who support them – for the most eye-catching, head-scratching ministerial appointment in Westminster history.
Matthew Norman, Independent, 8 October