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Australia's Green Party Proposes Decriminalising Ecstasy

Author: Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
Sunday, September 5, 2004

Senator Bob Brown of Australia's Green Party confirmed this week that his party supports legalising personal use possession of recreational drugs, declaring 'we want to see those folks given medical advice rather than seeing them put in jail." (news.com.au)

The Green Party leader's calls echoed those made by leading British establishment journal the New Statesman, who in 2002 called for an end to the worldwide War on Drugs.

"The (UK) government's drug policy is not working and nor is any other government's," the magazine pointed out.

"The argument for the legalization of drugs is not about their safety but about the best way of controlling their dangers… The argument should be about degrees of regulation, not degrees of criminality," they added.

Senator Brown's emphasis on harm reduction reflected the continuing uncertainty reflecting ecstasy's relative dangers, particularly since chief anti-ecstasy scientist Dr George Ricuarte confessed last year that his research was fatally flawed. The New Scientist responded by examining published research and concluded 'most of it can't be trusted' (Guardian).

Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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