Paul Rowe, manager, Phoenix Youth Project, Cleator Moor: I don’t think criminalising drug takers works. It is not a deterrent it does not change anything.

The issue is not about decriminalising drugs, but educating young people to know the full facts involved.

The old traditional drugs are not really the big issue any more.

The big issue now is what we used to call ‘legal highs’ now referred to as psychoactive substances.


Paul Rowe They are getting stronger and they are being manufactured differently and really poorly. Apart from weed and the odd E, people are not taking the traditional drugs any more.

We need to concentrate on the dangers of these psychoactive drugs. It is all about educating and getting the message across that just because they are ‘legal’ or cheap does not mean that they are safe.

We don’t have a drugs issue here, it is more of a recreational thing that happens in the summer at music festivals.

The whole ‘say no to drugs’; campaign is no good. People have to make their own informed opinion.

It is not about scaremongering but about facts and information and hopefully that will deter them.


Allison TaylorAllison Taylor, chief executive, Cumbria Gateway: I don’t think the war on drugs is being won and I don’t know how we can carry on fighting it.

We’ve been trying for years, the prisons are full and we haven’t achieved anything.

If alcohol was discovered today it would be a class A drug, but if you banned drinking it would just go underground, as it did in America. People didn’t just say: “I can’t have a glass of wine any more.”

You shouldn’t criminalise people because they have an addiction, any more than you criminalise alcoholics, or smokers. Drugs should be available in a controlled environment with education and support, so that when people decide they’ve had enough of that lifestyle they can get the help and motivation to come off drugs.

Drug dealing is a massive business, and we don’t ever catch the people at the very top of it. If drugs were on sale from regulated premises the dealers would be wiped out tomorrow, because no-one would need to go to them any more.

It has worked in other countries. But decriminalisation should go hand in hand with education.

The worst thing you can say to a child is “no”. We should say: “This is what will happen to you.”


Helen DaviesHelen Davies, north service manager, Cumbria Alcohol and Drugs Advisory Service: As with anything there are pros and cons. Just legalising substances isn’t necessarily the answer.

It could send a message to people that these substances are safe, and there’s more to it than that. Even with the legal medication you get from a doctor you don’t always know what the side effects are going to be. People react to different substances in different ways.

Some people say that if drugs were legal we could get proper regulation and they would have to go through rigorous quality control – so that ecstasy here was the same as ecstasy 300 miles away – and that it would allow us to have an open debate about them.

There is also the argument that if they weren’t illegal people would be more likely to get help, because there would be less of a stigma attached.

But I think that in general if people want help with their substance abuse they do eventually come through the door. In the long run drugs being illegal doesn’t prevent people getting help.

After all, the drug of choice for most people is a legal substance – alcohol. And it’s what causes most problems in terms of people coming to CADAS.


Ron SmithRon Smith, former chief superintendent, Cumbria Constabulary: There’s a certain appeal about the legalisation of drugs in that it prevents people from becoming criminals. But I personally don’t believe that it can proceed in isolation.

It’s absolutely essential that there are also adequate education programmes and medical treatment in place, so that people are informed and can make their choice – and if their choice proves to be the wrong one they then have immediate access to the help they need.

In my experience people who have addiction problems often encounter a crisis, and it’s at that point that help is required – not two weeks, three weeks or four weeks later, but there and then.

The other point about legalisation is that one would assume we would have quality control in the preparations of the drugs which are then available, rather than going through the hands of criminals who cut them with all sorts of potential contaminants.

I can see there is a logical case for legalisation. Crime may well fall because you are not operating in a murky world. Levels of criminality and prostitution could be lower.

But until you have proper education where people can make informed choices, help available and quality control in the production of drugs, legalisation should not proceed.