The khat ban passed by 16 votes to two
Video: Watch the debate – House of Commons: Second Legislated Committee considering the draft Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2013 and the draft Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (Amendment) Order 2013
And just before and after the ban was voted:
Khat ban faces new hurdle as Lib Dems withdraw support
Bristol Post: ” Having tried khat when researching the extent of its use in Bristol, I can safely say it is stronger than a strong cup of coffee.
A visit to a mafrish – a cafe for people who chew khat – showed there was overwhelming support for a ban from users and much of the Somali community in Bristol.” Read the article
Somali Forum Vice Chair – following community issues closely
Always voted for Labour but if they oppose the khat ban will vote for the Conservative party in next General Election.
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Mohamed Cantoobo (@Cantoobo) March 31, 2014[tweet 450578913623035904]
[tweet 450583841775038464 hide_thread=’true’]
“It passed…”
Politics.co.uk: Update: Labour supported the ban. ..
“It was hard to tell for a while. Shadow Home Office minister Diana Johnson accepted most of the arguments against the ban. She accepted that:
• The advisory council found no evidence of harm
• A ban would lead to racial profiling against Somalis, Yemenis and Kenyans
• A ban could not be shown to cause social harms, such as worklessness
• A ban could push people from these communities away from counter-terror programmes, like Prevent, as they seek to protect friends from the ban
And yet somehow the party has ended up supporting the ban, albeit with a call for a review in 12 months. That’s a policy cul-de-sac. Reviews very rarely tend to scrap the law they are assessing. It’s far easier to stop a law in the first place than repeal it later.
So even where Labour admits it cannot show harm from a drug and that a ban may be counter-productive, it still supports it. It would be remarkable if we were not so used to the mania of prohibition.
As Tory MP Mark reckless observed dryly: “Is it the policy of the Labour party that when evidence is unclear on a certain matter it should be banned just in case?” Read the article
There’s simply no case for banning khat
“Khat is as potent as a strong cup of coffee and has no organised crime involvement – yet the government wants to spend £150m on a ban that would create far more severe problems
Guardian: There is much debate about drugs policy. Should we continue to follow the criminal justice-led approach that we have tried to date, costing huge amounts of money and achieving little? Or should we move to a health-based approach, such as that used in Portugal, where the focus is on helping people to break their addictions?
Drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, are of course harmful, whatever their legal status, and our aim should be to reduce the harm caused. I’ve argued strongly for reform, and an end to the failed war on drugs. I think the general opinion in the UK is heading that way, albeit slowly.
There is a specific decision to be made right now, however, about a substance called khat. This is a leaf traditionally chewed by people from the Horn of Africa. In the UK, communities from that area still chew it, particularly Somalis, but also Ethiopians, Kenyans and Yemenis among others. It’s a mild stimulant – roughly on a par with a strong cup of coffee. It is not considered particularly addictive, and there’s no clear evidence that it causes either physical or social harms. It is imported perfectly legally, and taxes are paid on it, to the tune of £12.8m each year.” Read the article
Banning Khat is one of the most dangerous decisions made during the ‘war on drugs’
New Statesman: “The recent move by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to ban the stimulant Khat is only the latest in a long line of drug policy decisions by governments of all persuasions that ignores evidence and will prove counter-productive. Drug policy still appears to be one of the only areas where evidence-based policy making has no place. Despite the obvious failure of the ‘war on drugs’, and a growing body of evidence that suggests that aggressive law enforcement makes the situation worse, politicians seem determined to pursue the same futile policies in a desperate attempt not to appear ‘soft on drugs’. Criminalising the sale and consumption of Khat will only result in the creation of an illegal black market, which will enrich organised criminal networks; most probably newly formed criminal syndicates.” Read the article
